7 summers
by bets2010
Summary: This fic was inspired by a song from a cartoon ; . Scorpius Malfoy was excited to FINALLY have a best friend he could invite to stay for the summer. What he hasn't counted on is his best friend's stubborn sister tagging along.
1. Chapter 1

AN: The inspiration for this was a song.. from a cartoon. Ten points and eternal friendship to whoever guesses right ;) PS: I know I do have several in-progress fics up. I do intend to finish them, I promise!

"What do you mean your little sister's coming? This was supposed to be a _boy's _month." Twleve year old Scorpius Malfoy glared at his friend's bespectacled head in his fireplace.

'She really wanted to come, mate. And mum won't let me go if she doesn't come along. Something about her missing me when I was at Hogwarts' Albus Potter was guilty. He knew he hadn't replied to his little sister's letters as often as he should have while at school. There were too many adventures to be had as a first year. Besides, she was going to be with him next year. He planned on talking her into choosing Slytherin. Somehow.

"Why can't she go bug James?" Scorpius was petulant. Girls were icky and gross and he already had to hang out with Rose Weasley on the train. No female was allowed in Malfoy Manor. Except his mother and grandmother. And Winky, the house elf.

'James is going to quidditch camp. She's not _that_ bad, Scor. Besides, don't the Zabinis live near you? She can go and play with Greg's sister.'

"Yeah we can probably ditch her" Scorpius brightened at the thought.

'What do you mean, I have to behave? I always behave' Lily Luna Potter was affronted. Ever since her mother had told her she could accompany her brother Al to his friends' house, he had given her a list of rules on what not to do, and had insisted that she not _embarrass _him. Since when was Lily Potter an embarrassment, anyway? She was the coolest little sister around! James said so!

"I know you do, Lils, but Scorpius isn't used to your… personality. Besides he hasn't really been around girls much growing up"

'Girls are perfect and I will show him this' the eleven year old stuck her nose in the air, tossed her red gold ponytail and climbed up the stairs to her room, ready to pack.

'AL!' Scorpius bounded down the stairs at the sound of the doorbell. He was excited – he had never had a friend over before. The children of his parents' friends were snobby and blood-obsessed. Zabini, who lived nearby, was a year older and often sneered in his aristocratic way at Scorpius' rough games. He had been over to their estate to play quidditch a few times, but Zabini often made Scorpius play a position he didn't like (Keeper or Beater) because Scorpius was the youngest and therefore most inconsequential. And Zabini's sisters were _girls_.

"Dad bought me a firebolt 30 for my birthday. That Chaser spot's mine"

'With us on the team, Slytherin's a lock on the House Cup this year' Scorpius high fived his friend, ignoring the little girl standing behind him with the red gold curls and the livid expression.

"AHEM" Lily Luna Potter did NOT like being ignored. She gave a loud sniff as the two boys turned to face her.

'Oh, Mrs Malfoy, Scor, this is my sister, Lily.' Albus beamed at Astoria Malfoy and his friend. He was secretly proud of his little sister, although he would never admit it to anyone.

"I am very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy" Lily Potter beamed, flashing her dimple at the older woman in front of her. Astoria Malfoy looked like a queen, with long, honey blonde hair, blue eyes and a long dress. She was much more formal than Lily's mother, but she had a kind smile. Her son, on the other hand, seemed to be glaring at her for some reason.

'Scorpius, where are your manners?'

'I'm very pleased to have you here, Miss Potter' Scorpius muttered under his breath, glaring. There was something about the little girl that evoked a reaction from him. She was actually… pretty. Her hair was red, but unlike Rose's it shone with a golden glint. Her huge hazel eyes sparkled, and her pale skin was free of freckles. She was, however, a girl. In his vast experience, girls would only want to play with dolls/dress up and giggle about how cute Frank Longbottom was.

"I'm very pleased to be here" Lily beamed. Maybe Al's friend was going to be friendly, after all.

'Ah, ah ah' Astoria Malfoy waggled her finger at her son. She was raising him to be a gentleman and Merlin knew you had to start young with boys.

Scorpius groaned. His mother ALWAYS made him do this with EVERY girl or woman that he met. Her friends and his grandmother's friends seemed to get a kick out of it, but Scorpius found it downright embarrassing. Under his mother's watchful glare he bowed slightly, took the little girl's hand, and pressed it to his lips. His ears turned red as Lily's eyes widened and his friend let out a shout of laughter.

'Your rooms are upstairs, I need to go brush my teeth.' Scorpius made a face at Albus' sister and ran off. Albus shrugged and picked up his sisters bag, trudging up the elegant marble staircase as Lily was left glaring at the spot vacated by the twelve year old Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy.


	2. Chapter 2

Thirteen year old Scorpius Malfoy packed his belongings. That summer, his mother had banned him from inviting _any_ friends to the house, so Albus had invited him to Potter Manor for the first half of their vacation. He glanced at a photograph from the previous summer, his lips twitching briefly into either a smile or a scowl. He wasn't too sure which, at that point.

One of the (many) reasons he was being punished that summer was because of the damage the children had caused to the manor the previous summer. That photograph had been taken by Draco Malfoy after Scorpius and Albus had managed to blow up the oven. Both boys had been covered in dough, while Lily Potter and the Zabini twins preened for the camera, flashing wide, triumphant grins. He had _tried_ explaining to his horrified mother that it was all Potter's fault. And it _was_… she had changed the recipe they were using. The fact that the boys had been trying to concoct dungbombs to hide in Lily's suitcase was, of course, irrelevant.

Scorpius had, of course, been hoping that the Zabini sisters would keep Lily occupied, so he and Albus could do _boy_ things. Like plan pranks, play quidditch, build a clubhouse. Unfortunately for Scorpius, Lily Potter had been having none of it. She and her new friends had determinedly chased the boys, insisting on joining in their games. And when Scorpius wouldn't lend her a broom, his father had stepped in, loaning her his precious Firebolt 2030. It was amazing how quickly Draco and Astoria had taken to the littlest Potter – she seemed to have most of the adults around her wrapped firmly around her little finger.

Scorpius smiled slightly as he packed his quidditch gear. Lily had thrown a snitch at his head when he had called her Potty Potter and put shoe polish in her shampoo. He didn't know what it was about that Potter girl that amplified his inner prankster. He liked the way her eyes flashed, for some reason. He did find it funny when she yelled his last name, too. It meant that he had gotten to her.

He smiled ruefully when he thought of the previous year. Albus had blamed him when Lily was sorted into Gryffindor. Apparently the Sorting Hat had been undecided between Gryffindor and Slytherin… and Potter had told the hat to sort her "far far away from that Malfoy _git_." She had spunk, he would give her that. He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully - and a mean right hook too.

'_Awww.. does wittle Wily need to run home to Mummy and Daddy and Jamie?' _

_The eleven year old Lily had glared mutinously at the boy in front of her, her huge hazel eyes filled with angry tears. Scorpius Malfoy had stolen her knickers and used them to decorate his front yard._

"_Leave me alone, Malfoy" Lily had, in fact, been contemplating leaving at that point. Scorpius Malfoy was clearly nothing but a git and she would see Madeleine and Elyse at Hogwarts in a couple of months anyway. Spending some extra time with her brother wasn't worth this daily torment. _

'_Go on then, go home to your Daddy' Scorpius had sneered at the little girl. Truthfully, a part of him had enjoyed having her to tease – seeking her out and picking fights with her specifically was fun. _

_A flash of defiance flickered in he eyes. Lily Luna Potter was NOT going to go home in defeat. She was going to survive the next three weeks if it killed her. Or more accurately, if it killed Malfoy. _

'_What's the matter, Potter? Left your tongue outside with your knickers' _

_That was when Scorpius Malfoy had received his first ever black eye and split lip. From a girl. _

If Scorpius was being honest with himself, he would admit that he secretly enjoyed his fights with Lily. And she seemed to enjoy fighting with him, too. That year, Scorpius and Albus were on the Slytherin quidditch team, while Lily refused to choose between her brothers, she did cheer extra loudly when James hit Scorpius' broom off course with a bludger. At Hogwarts, Scorpius was allowed to use magic, so he was forever chasing after Albus' sister, charming knots into her hair, putting puking pastilles in her pumpkin juice. Of course, she often retaliated. For a first year, she was surprisingly talented at transfiguration, and Scorpius would often find himself walking around Hogwarts with an elephant's trunk or a pair of horns.

Scorpius had also found himself a new rival in Lysander Scamander. The blond Ravenclaw was constantly with Lily, the twins and Hugo Weasley. Scorpius didn't mind his brother too much, but there was something about the way Lysander interacted with Lily that irritated Scorpius. So, Scorpius hexed him. Constantly. The little git could also often be seen glaring at Scorpius and whispering to Lily shortly after, which drove Scorpius mad. It wasn't that he minded having Lily Potter be angry with him – it was that he wanted her to be angry because of something he DID.

Scamander didn't seem to like Scorpius much, either. He would often cast filthy looks over at the Slytherin table, and drop little snide comments about death eaters whenever the Potters were out of earshot. Scorpius knew Albus would have had a few things to say about that but truthfully, Scorpius didn't want to depend on his friend to defend him _all _ the time. At least his house mates and most of the school were beginning to recognize him for his quidditch ability rather than his grandfather's infamy. Scorpius often wondered what Lily Potter would say to her friend if she knew of his behavior. On one hand, she made no secret of her dislike for Scorpius Malfoy. On the other, he had, on numerous occasions, seen her standing up to higher years in defense of Slytherins and other students with death eaters in their family.

'_Ouch! Bloody hell, Lils what did you do that for?' _

_Scorpius' head had snapped up at the sound of Fred Weasley's loud voice. He smirked as the fourth year held his shin, glaring at his younger cousin. _

"_Eliott has done nothing wrong. You had no business asking to see his Dark Mark" Lily Luna Potter, short even for her age, had drawn herself up to her full height and pointed her wand at her cousin, channeling both her grandmothers as she glared._

'_Merlin, Lily I was only joking' Fred had raised his hands in defeat._

"_It wasn't funny, Fred. Imagine them having to live their lives, being punished for mistakes made before they were even born" Lily's soft voice had caused her cousin to blush and hunt down the Slytherin first year for an apology. Scorpius Malfoy, meanwhile, was left staring in wonder as Lily Luna Potter made a face at him and marched down the hall after her brother_.

"Scorpius! Are you ready to leave?"

'Yes, mom' the blond teenager snapped his suitcase shut and hurried down the stairs. He had to be on his best behavior if he wanted to invite the Potters – I mean Albus to visit next summer.

"Fix your hair, son. And do you _have_ to wear that tee shirt? You have some lovely shirts that I just bought yesterday" Astoria Malfoy fussed over her son. She was proud of him, and secretly relished showing him off.

'If you make me kiss her hand again I'm going to throw up'

AN: I'm not sure if I should focus each chapter on the summers, or if y'all want to read more about the intervening years at school too – let me know!


	3. Chapter 3

"WHAT did you call me?"

'Deaf, Spotty Potty?' Scorpius flashed the Malfoy smirk that was becoming popular among some of the Hogwarts girls. James had always had a fan club, but joining the quidditch team had raised his and Al's profile immensely.

Albus Potter slapped his hand to his forehead. Merlin, he knew Scorpius was a bit thick at times but _why_ he chose to pick on Lily EVERY summer was beyond him. Especially since he had been at the wrong end of Lily's wrath all year at school. Albus had lost count of the number of times he had had to run to the hospital wing with his friend's homework.

Lily Potter, however, only glared. The law against underaged magic meant that she could _not_ retaliate. Not with her wand, at least. When he let out another smarmy remark about her complexion, it had taken the combined strength of Madeline AND Eloise to hold her back. It wasn't her fault that she was a twelve-year-old girl, and puberty kind of sucked. Scorpius had cast another mocking smile as Albus led his best friend out the door to their quidditch pitch.

'Did you _have_ to pick on her? You know girls are sensitive about things like that' Albus Potter didn't usually interfere with his friend's antics, but he had seen the genuine hurt in his sister's eyes.

'She's not a girl, Al. She's Lily' Scorpius scoffed. 'Besides, what do I care if she gets mad at me, anyway?'

Albus bit his lip. Scorpius was a good bluffer, but he could see the slight tinge of worry in his best friend's eyes, that didn't seem to be related to a fear for his life. Merlin knew Lily and Scorpius had gotten into a number of fistfights that summer, not to mention prank wars. With James around to egg Lily on, things frequently got out of hand. Albus was rather sore about having his broom taken away for a month after the food fight started by Scorpius and Lily destroyed the Potter dining room.

"Whatever you say, Score. Just, for my sake, try to get along with her for this last week. I don't actually want my sister hating me because of my prat of a best mate"

Scorpius rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the slight tinge of guilt pricking his chest. He hadn't meant to hurt Potter's feelings. They argued all the time.. but somehow, seeing the flash of hurt in her eyes affected him. He couldn't let Albus know that, of course. He was a Malfoy. Malfoys didn't feel guilty for upsetting little twelve-year-old Potter girls.

Scorpius Malfoy couldn't sleep. Throwing a pillow at his best friend, who was snoring softly, he padded down the stairs, surprised at seeing a light on in the kitchen. Approaching, he smiled slightly at the thin figure in shorts and a tee shirt, a messy red gold bun at the top of her head heating milk over the stove.

'Alright, Potter?'

Lily Potter whirled around, cursing slightly as she took in the presence of the thirteen year old _git_.

"Go away, Malfoy. I'm not in the mood"

Scorpius was surprised to see the tearstained cheeks of the girl in front of him. He was even more surprised to see the effect her tears were having on him. He knew he had seen her cry at least once the previous year. Hell, he had been the cause most of the time. Awkwardly he moved towards the girl and offered her a tissue.

'Sit down Potter, I'll make us some hot chocolate. If you're anything like your brother you're liable to burn the house down'

"It was you that caused the oven to explode last year, Malfoy"

'After you tampered with our recipe'

"Because you were going to use those things on us!"

Scorpius smirked slightly. This was the Lily Potter he liked to see – flushed and slightly angry. He ignored the small part of his brain telling him that despite the pimple on her nose, Lily Luna Potter was very pretty with pink cheeks and flashing eyes.

Lily Luna grinned maliciously as she swooped around the Potter quidditch pitch, scoring yet _again_ on Scorpius Malfoy and her brother. When James had suggested a two on two quidditch match, Malfoy had made a big show of not wanting any _girls_ on his team to hold him back. Albus had only pinched his nose, knowing full well his sisters' skill on the broom. The fish-like expression on his face when she scored first was classic. Albus and Scorpius were considered Slytherin's deadliest chasing combination, but Lily and James, having grown up on Potter/Weasley/Lupin family quidditch matches, were able to match them pretty well. Lily, in particular, relished diving and feinting past Scorpius' defences.

'Oi… head in the game!' Albus yelled as his friend stared helplessly at the red gold blur that shot past him, stealing the quaffle. He bit back a swear as Ginny Potter blew her old Harpies whistle, and the four players landed their brooms to cheers from the Zabini twin. Losing to a girl was humiliating enough, but little Lily Potter? She would _never_ let him hear the end of it.

"Good game, Malfoy" Lily grinned her brother and his best friend as they sullenly approached their little group. Albus raised his eyebrow as Scorpius muttered something incoherent and stomped back into the house, giving his sister an apologetic hug as he followed his friend.

'What the bloody hell was that about? Merlin Scor, the least you could do was be a good sport about it..'

"We lost to your _sister_, Al" Scorpius was unrepentant. A small part of him had been admiring her skill on the broom, and her victorious flush had caused him to smile slightly. Still… the humiliation. He supposed he would be lucky if she didn't crow about it in front of him all week. Merlin knew he would have, if the tables were turned. Which they weren't.

'I told you we wanted her in Slytherin' Albus was starting to suspect his friend's constant antagonistic behavior towards his sister. Sure, Scorpius was a spoiled prat at times, but he seemed to single out Lily. And the way he caught his friend glancing at her after every insult – it was almost as if he was _relishing_ their exchange in a way.

Scorpius' grey eyes widened in horror as he thought of the following year. He hadn't realized that Lily was going to be a second year… and eligible for quidditch.

"Gryffindor's chasers… Finnegan, Wood and Thomas… they're all in our year. So they won't have a chaser spot open for awhile" Scorpius' relief was visible. He would _not_ be able to handle losing to Lily Potter every year in school. His quidditch reputation depended on it. As it was, the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams were fairly evenly matched.

'She doesn't play chaser, mate' Albus' smile was pitying.

"Y-you mean…"

'Let's just say that _wasn__'__t_ her playing at her best, and in her best position' Albus Potter snickered slightly at his friend's horrified expression. Yes, their team was definitely going to be in trouble when his sister eventually did go out for quidditch, but for the moment, his friend's terror was _much_ more amusing to watch. He had a feeling they were in for an interesting year.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I'm skipping past some of the awkward pre-teen years, mainly because I'm excited to get to the "good" stuff, and the idea I had for this chapter works better for a thirteen year old Lily. Sorry – I could skip back later if y'all want!

Thirteen year old Lily Potter picked up the red envelope from her bag and squared her shoulders, heading over to the Slytherin table with her best friend. She knew she was going to regret this, but Maddie had had the bright idea of including Al and Scor on their valentine list that year. Although Scorpius Malfoy tormented her constantly, Lily did admit that she enjoyed the time she spent fighting with the blond Slytherin, often besting him with the help of family heirlooms, ingenuity and the famous Lily temper (apparently it was an inherited trait). When she had been starting second year, he had gloated for an entire summer about getting to Hogsmeade before her. His expression when he had walked in to the Three Broomsticks to find her raising her glass at him with a smirk was satisfyingly fish-like. Al really should have told him that James would give her the map. Their oldest brother was wrapped firmly around her little finger, and everyone at Hogwarts knew it.

Lily also knew that Scorpius wasn't _all_ bad, whatever Xander may say. He had teased her mercilessly about not making the quidditch team in her second year – Nathan Wood had given the Seeker position to his little sister without holding tryouts, much to James' chagrin. Lily had retreated to the Astronomy tower in tears – she wasn't about to let Malfoy know that he had gotten to her. However, at the next Gryffindor/Slytherin match, Malfoy had refrained from bragging about his own chasing skills and had loudly proclaimed that Gryffindor was going to lose because of their "blind as a bat seeker, who couldn't catch a Snitch if it smacked her between the eyes." Even James had smiled at that one, and Lily had _almost_ found herself rooting for the Slytherin team. _Almost_.

Then, that summer, Scorpius had again snuck polyjuice potion into her pumpkin juice (She had NOT appreciated walking around looking like Vinnie Crabbe for an hour), dungbombs in her pillowcase (although his mom HAD grounded him for that). He and Al had trailed after Maddie, Ellie and herself, trying to bait them into water balloon fights, mudball fights (messier than snowballs), two on two quidditch… calling her Spotty Potty, Little Red, Red Riding Hood, Strawberry Shortcake… Lily looked at the valentine in her hand and shot a wary glance towards the Slytherin table. She had a bad feeling about this…

Scorpius Malfoy was sorting through his pile of cards with his friends. Slytherin quidditch fans seemed rather fond of him – the only ones who got more cards were James Potter, self proclaimed quidditch sex god, and Al, who for some reason had more cards, gifts and little trinkets than James and Scorpius put together. Scorpius, Kyle Nott and most of the Slytherins had teased Albus mercilessly for the last hour when five different fluffy pink hearts from "secret admirers" were delivered by owl to the Slytherin table. Albus was notoriously shy when it came to girls, and it drove most of the Hogwarts girls crazy. Including Zabini's sister, although Albus didn't seem to be aware of that little fact. Sensing his best mate's extreme discomfort, Scorpius proceeded to divert the boys' attention by reading aloud the names of the girls who had sent him cards that year.

"Elpheba Flint.. yes.. she did cheer rather loudly at the last quidditch match – I think I'll give her a five out of ten – " Scorpius Malfoy had stopped in mid drawl when he caught sight of his best friend's little sister standing before him, clutching a red envelope in her hands. Maddie Zabini, blushing furiously, had just handed a card to Al, who was biting his lip, willing his best friend to shut up and do nothing stupid for once in his life.

'Rating the poor, tasteless girls who gave you valentines, Malfoy?' Lily's voice was low and dangerous, causing Scorpius to gulp slightly. Despite his bravado, Merlin himself knew how deadly Lily Potter could be with a wand. Especially when provoked. The flash in her hazel eyes, however, sparked something inside him, as usual.

"It seems like you're one of them, Potter. Is that for me?" Scorpius flashed his best lopsided grin at the seething redhead in front of him, chuckling slightly at the telling flush that spread across her cheeks.

'I made valentines for ALL my friends Malfoy. Xander and Lorcan have them too'

Scorpius felt his stomach twist slightly as he glanced at the Ravenclaw table, seeing the blond Scamander twins holding similar red envelopes. Lysander even had a large cookie with the words "from Lily" written on it in icing. His grey eyes narrowed as he took a deep breath, trying to control his annoyance.

"They didn't get a special delivery. What's the matter, Potter? Finally developed some taste?"

Madeline Zabini was alarmed. She wished her sister hadn't traipsed off to Madam Puddifoot's so quickly with Hugo. It was going to take both of them to calm Lily down after this. And she wanted to stop Albus from banging his head against the table. He could hurt himself, and Merlin knew that would be a waste.

Scorpius Malfoy felt a tiny flash of warmth spreading over him as he looked into the eyes of the angry teenager in front of him. Lily wasn't conventionally beautiful like the Zabini twins – she was fairly skinny with eyes that were almost too big for her face. But there was something about her long, thick lashes, her red gold hair and her almost luminous skin that caught his attention. Besides, she did look remarkably pretty when she blushed. And when she was angry. And when she was about to kill him.

'Lils, please. Not today' Albus Potter's pleading tone forced his sister to calm down somewhat. He had been beleaguered by owls sent by random girls all day – some of them attacking him when he didn't write a reply. And his friends had been teasing him nonstop – he did _not_ have the strength to deal with another Lily/Scorpius argument that would invariably result in Gryffindor and Slytherin losing points and a long lecture from Rose. Also, part of him had wanted to spend some time with Lily and Madeline that day. Not for any particular reason, but…

'Just take the card, Malfoy' Lily threw the red envelope at the blond fourteen year old, yanking her best friend, who barely had time to shove her own card into a very surprised Albus Potter's hands.

Scorpius Malfoy stared at the red envelope on the table in front of him, silent for a few minutes. Looking up at the retreating red gold ponytail, he opened his mouth on impulse.

"Oi, Potter"

Lily Luna Potter stopped and turned, aiming her best glare at the Malfoy git in front of her. Merlin help her, if he was going to waste her time and say something stupid –

"Go out with me!"


	5. Chapter 5

Scorpius Malfoy grinned slightly, dodging out of the way of the runaway bludger as he expertly maneuvered his broom in the woods above Malfoy Manor. He had discovered Lily Potter's Achilles heel. He marveled at the amount of time he had spent teasing her and pranking her – it seemed that if he _really_ wanted to get under the redhead's skin, all he had to do was ask her out. Loudly. In front of everyone in the great hall.

Truthfully, he didn't know what had spurred the impulsive request for a Hogsmeade date on Valentines day. His stomach clenched slightly as he remembered staring at her red gold ponytail and huge hazel eyes sparkling with anger as she had watched him make fun of Elpheba Flint. The thirteen year old Lily Potter was starting to _do_ something to him. And he didn't quite know how to deal with it. He had almost enjoyed the red and pink bats flying around his nose that morning. Not even her brothers seemed to know how to reverse the hex – she had modified her mother's trademark too many times. When she swore at him for bothering her, he found himself admiring slightly her creative use of the word "broomstick". When she arrived at the manor for the summer, he found himself admiring how she had grown slightly, and was starting to develop curves. Her shorts were starting to fit her a little better, anyway. Her tee shirt, too, as she determinedly chased him through the air on her broom throwing random objects at him.

'Scorpius. Bloody. Malfoy. Your mum made you kiss my HAND. That does NOT mean you get to write Lily Malfoy on all my tee shirts!'

"But Lilykins, you know they'll come in useful someday. When we're married you won't even need new shirts!" Scorpius smirked slightly, ducking as Lily threw another bludger at his head. He turned around and grinned – he had seen her push off with only the two bludgers – she was now out of ammunition.

"You call those seeker reflexes, Lils? OI"

On the ground, Draco Malfoy was laughing ruefully with Al Potter and the Zabini twins as his son rubbed his forehead after being hit square on the face with a golden snitch. He often wondered if his son and the Potter girl were going to end up killing each other or falling in love. Scorpius did seem to pay her an unusual amount of attention. And he seemed to lose a few brain cells around her, that was for sure. Despite himself, Draco couldn't bring himself to disapprove of his son's apparent preference for the girl. The redhead had charmed him on previous visits to the manor with her sweet smile and beguiling wit. Besides, it was amusing to see his son's antics with Lily over the summer. Draco's teenage years had involved fear of death eaters and daily battles with his conscience. He thanked God daily that his fourteen year old son spent his summers pranking and laughing with a pretty girl. Besides, at least she wasn't a Weasley.

Al Potter was watching his friend and his sister flying around the manor with mild concern. He had given Scor a talking to after the _incident_, as they had termed it in the Great Hall on Valentines day (after he had hauled his sorry arse to the hospital wing in an attempt to remove the hex. It had taken an hour of pleading and bribery with Lily's favorite Honeydukes chocolate to placate his sister). Scorpius had assured Al that he had only asked Lily out to annoy her. Albus Potter snorted slightly. If THAT had been his plan, it was working beautifully. He wasn't naïve enough to believe his best mate, but he knew that as long he carried on behaving like a twat around her, Scorpius was going to get nowhere near his sister. He could afford to be amused for the moment as his best friend flew around with a snitch shaped bruise between his eyes.

'What the bloody hell do you want, Malfoy?' Lily Potter was irate as she nursed her glass of milk, hugging her chocolate chip cookies to her chest. Maddie had made them for _her_ (and Albus, not that she would admit it) and Malfoy wasn't getting his grubby paws on a single one. Besides, he was intruding on her brooding time. Her favorite part about visiting Malfoy Manor every other summer was hanging around in the rooftop observatory at night. Apparently Blacks and Malfoys had been obsessed with the stars for generations, and Lucius' grandfather had built a huge stone tower with a domed glass ceiling specifically for observing the stars. Ever since that summer before first year, when Lily had been tormented daily by the Malfoy scion, Lily had snuck out of her room late at night to observe the constellations. She'd liked being alone, not sharing the time even with Ellie and Maddie. Until now.

"I just wanted to follow my future wife around. It looks as though you're already familiar with the Manor. That's good – you won't have any problems later" Scorpius snatched a cookie from her plate grinned, chomping noisily as the redhead's eyes narrowed in anger. He bit his lip, trying to ignore the slight jump in his pulse as he looked at the almost fourteen year old in front of him. The moonlight reflected off her skin, making it glow in an almost ethereal fashion.

'Your future wife? Wouldn't that be Flint? Or Nott? Or even Goyle?' Lily grinned slightly at the expression of horror on her companion's face. Lara Goyle wasn't very distinguishable from her seventh year brother and had a reputation for beating up younger students. Even James steered clear of her.

"They can't hold a candle to you Potter. You know you can't resist the Malfoy charm forever" Scorpius smirked, recovering his composure slightly. He didn't know what it was about Lily Potter that was making him react strangely for most of the year, but he did know flirting with her would be the best way to get back into their routine of fighting. Besides, a small part of him wondered sometimes if she would notice him if he didn't annoy her.

Lily glared. Malfoy had been teasing her ever since that stupid Valentines day incident. She figured she should be grateful to Maddie – his obnoxious behavior had extinguished the mini crush she had started to develop on the blond fourth year. Whenever she started to think of him as a normal person, he would do something stupid that made her rue the day Albus met him. She chewed her cookie quietly, hoping he would go away if she ignored him for long enough.

"Leaving your little friend alone for the night? Aren't you afraid she'll sneak into our room to watch Al sleep?" Scorpius Malfoy's smirk hid a hint of desperation. He didn't like Lily Potter's silence. He needed to remind her of the fact that he was there.

'Shut up, Malfoy' Lily growled. 'Draco and Astoria Malfoy are good people. I must not murder their son under their roof'

Scorpius chuckled as Lily muttered to herself, obviously struggling to maintain her composure. She was fiercely protective of her friends, and Zabini was no exception. He knew better than to goad her further – Lily Potter was capable of some powerful accidental magic, and the ministry officials were usually putty in the hands of the youngest Potter.

"D'you mind, Potter?"

'What?'

"D'you mind the fact that your best friend is obviously interested in your older brother" Scorpius was genuinely curious. It must be a difficult position to be in. And Merlin knew the only person who didn't know about the torch Maddie Zabini carried for Albus was Al himself.

'Ellie's dating Hugo, that's not weird. But Al is… different. He's more, sensitive. It would take some getting used to, but if they were to get together, I could be happy for them. As long as they didn't get all soppy in front of me all the time.' Lily Potter's smile was brittle. She knew they were only thirteen, but Maddie's crush on her older brother was painfully obvious. Knowing both their personalities, she knew that if things worked out, it could develop into something more serious than a school or teenage romance. It scared her, but she also knew that she trusted Maddie with her brother – more than some of his other fangirls, anyway.

"Hmmm… so if they start going out, Albus won't be able to kill me for dating you" Scorpius Malfoy's sardonic smirk snapped Lily out of her reverie, raising her heckles just as he had hoped it would. Dodging the flying plate, Scorpius Malfoy ran out of the observatory, turning back only once to snap a picture of the angry redhead chasing him with his new wizard camera.

AN: A nice, long chapter! Like it? Please r/r.. it'll make me post the next chapters faster!


	6. Chapter 6

'I cannot believe I am wasting my time here. You're a Potter, and you're telling me you don't have a date to the house unity ball yet?'

Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy were cursing Ellie Zabini, who had let Al's older brother into their common room in exchange for the Gryffindor password. Just because she wanted to gab with Lily and her sister, and/or swap saliva with Hugo, they had to sit and be lectured when they could be in their dorm, sulking.

"It's easy for you to say. You're just going with Sonia" Albus Potter's tone was defensive. He _knew_ he could have a date if he wanted to – Merlin, he didn't even have to ask. He'd been bombarded by owls, letters and giggly girls since the ball was announced two weeks before. From the few dates he had been on in the previous year, however, he knew that most of those girls weren't interested in getting to know him. Marissa Clegg had spent an entire Hogsmeade date dragging him to all the places she knew her friends were going to be, taking him by the arm and talking loudly about how it was SUCH an honor to be going out with ALBUS POTTER. Selena McLaggen had spent the Yule ball asking about what it was like to be Harry Potter's son, and wondering if she would be invited to come around over winter break. Maybe the fifteen year old Albus was getting cynical, but he hated not knowing if a girl was interested in him for himself – or because he looked exactly like Harry Potter.

James softened slightly as Scorpius Malfoy glared at him. Malfoy had always been protective over Al – almost like Frank had been with him. And he knew how his brother felt. Although he wouldn't admit it, he had had his fair share of vapid Potter fanatic dates over the years. Meeting Sonia Corner that year had changed that. The shy Ravenclaw prefect in Al's year had given him a detention after Christmas when she caught him charming the armor to explode. Something about her shy poise had intrigued him. She definitely wasn't giddy around him like most of the other girls. Her long, curly brown hair, smooth, lightly tanned skin and big brown eyes didn't hurt either. He had followed her to the Ravenclaw table in the great hall and asked her to Hogsmeade that weekend. He was so smitten, she was even getting him to do homework, much to the shock of the general Hogwarts population.

'You'll find someone, Al. Meanwhile, it's just a dance. What does it matter who you go with?' James decided to, for once, to be supportive of his brother. 'Even Hugo managed to get a date'

"Hugo's been dating Ellie Zabini for about a year now. He had a date before you did" Scorpius snorted at his friend's petulance. He had been trying to drill that point into his stubborn best friend's head for weeks. Of course, the fact that he didn't have a date himself didn't exactly help matters.

"Besides, I had to hide in the dorm for a month after the Mclaggen incident. Getting them to go isn't a problem, it's getting away from them after that is" Albus sulked as his brother and best friend exchanged amused glances. Selena Mclaggen had camped out outside the Slytherin dungeons for days after the Yule Ball, proclaiming to all and sundry that Al Potter was her soulmate. She had even gone to Mcgonagall's office and tried to get herself resorted into Slytherin. Albus had been afraid to eat or drink after she had been seen skulking around the potion stores.

'Then just find a girl who you wouldn't mind sticking around. You get along fine with Rose's friends. And Maddie Zabini's quite fit.'

Scorpius grinned as his noticed his best friend's eyes widen slightly. While it was painfully obvious to almost everyone that Madeline Zabini fancied Al Potter, she seemed to be more attracted to his personality and his handsome face than his last name. During his chaotic summers with Lily, Al and Maddie would often sit and talk quietly over glasses of lemonade about schoolwork, their ambitions. Al usually made her laugh with his stories of growing up at Potter Manor and regular visits to the Burrow. She had also often helped him with potions and healing spells over the school year. The git, however, seemed to think she wasn't interested in him.

'He thinks she won't go if he asks' Scorpius offered, ignoring his friend's death glare. Maybe James could bully some sense into that thick head of his. Merlin knew he had tried.

"Score's not going with anyone either" Albus Potter gave his friend a sly look as his older brother switched his incredulous gaze to the blond fifth year. Scorpius swallowed uncomfortably.

'Er… we're supposed to take someone from a different house. The only girls that are interested in me are Slytherin fans'

James Potter rolled his eyes at his brother and his brother's best mate. Merlin, these Slytherins were hopeless. He really needed to have a talk with Minnie about the Sorting Hat sucking away their common sense. Meanwhile, he had a date with Sonia, quidditch strategy to plan and pranks to pull. Maybe Lily could talk some sense into these two at dinner – she was _fairly_ persuasive, although she didn't get along with Malfoy too well. Besides, it would be amusing to see what new hex Lily would come up with when Malfoy hit on her again.

Scorpius was silent as James left the room. The truth was, he had been on the verge of asking several girls to the ball, but for some troublesome reason, a pair of hazel eyes floated before his. He had started conversations with several Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw girls, but just before he asked them to the dance, he would suddenly realize that they weren't smart enough, they weren't able to make him laugh, they didn't grab his attention enough, they weren't mischievous, they didn't have long red gold ponytails and big hazel eyes. He wasn't sure why little Lily Potter was starting to encroach upon his thoughts like this. She was getting prettier, and was starting to get the attention of the male population at Hogwarts. Scamander's following her around like a little puppy dog irked him more and more lately too. Scorpius often found himself not even bothering for Albus to be out of the room before hexing the little lizard. Even the long lectures he got from Al were worth it. He couldn't, of course, very well admit this in front of her big brothers, one of whom already didn't like him.

'You really think Maddie would go with me?' Albus looked slightly thoughtful, and more than a little hopeful.

"Mate, she'd give her right arm to go with you. For some reason she actually thinks you're a catch" Scorpius grinned at his friend.

'Will you come with me when I ask her at dinner?'

Scorpius raised a pale eyebrow, the Malfoy smirk beginning to spread slowly across his face. Maybe he would be able to line up his own date while he was at it.

AN: Sorry to end it here, but I really think it's a good place to break. Reviews WILL make me write faster ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Scorpius Malfoy sat at his table, stabbing his food with a fork. His Ravenclaw date had stalked off in a huff, leaving him to brood by himself at the table. He didn't know why he was so put out. Al seemed to be having a perfectly decent time with Sophie Creevey, much to Maddie Zabini's dismay. Scorpius chuckled slightly as he remembered the look of horror on Maddie's face when Albus asked her to the ball.

_Scorpius Malfoy had swaggered to the Gryffindor common room after dinner, accompanied by an irrationally nervous Albus Potter. James had given them the Gryffindor password, fully intending to hide and watch the fiasco when Scorpius inevitably hit on Lily. They had surprised the two fourth years on their way out of the dormitories._

'_Alright, Potter?' Scorpius grinned slightly as Lily Potter's eyes widened in surprise. She looked like she wasn't sure if she should be friendly or wary – it was cute to see her in a rare moment of uncertainty. _

"_What brings you to this end of the castle, Malfoy?" Lily had decided to be civil. There was something strange about Malfoy's sudden appearance in "enemy territory." Malfoy could have dragged Al here in an attempt to piss her off… or he could be wanting to plan another combined prank before the upcoming ball. _

'_Why Lilykins, you know I'll follow you to the ends of the earth' _

_Albus groaned and elbowed his best friend sharply in the ribs before clearing his throat. If his git of a best friend got himself hexed before Albus could talk to Maddie about the ball, Albus wasn't sure if he would be willing to bring him to the hospital wing without throwing in a few good jinxes of his own. _

'_Ahem… Albus here has very important business to discuss with Zabini, so I'd like to challenge you to a game of exploding snap.' Scorpius thought he was being charming, and couldn't understand the wide eyed look on Lily's face. She glanced at her friend worriedly as she followed him to the fireplace. Maddie Zabini, too, had looked up in shock at her best friend's brother. She looked green, and positively tearful as she took in his nervous shuffling, tie loosening and lopsided grin. _

"_Why did that bloody git wait until now to ask her?" Lily whispered to Scorpius, glaring at her nervous brother from a distance. _

'_What do you mean, Potter?' Scorpius had a bad feeling as he watched the exchange between his and Lily's best friends._

"_I mean, we already agreed to go with Eli Wood and Lorc. Lorcan can't go with Dom since she's in Ravenclaw too, and Eli didn't have a date." _

_Scorpius felt his chest tighten as he tried not to look at the girl next to him. Why would anyone want to go out with someone named after a hobbit, anyway?_

'_That's easy. You can just break your dates with them and go with us, instead.'_

"_Excuse me?" Lily Potter was affronted. Did Malfoy really think Maddie was the kind of girl to break a promise? And did he actually expect her to go with him?_

'_Come on, Lils. You want to go to the ball with a real man, not a hobbit' _

_Albus and Maddie had been spared awkward small talk when they had to run to separate their best friends. Lily Luna Potter still had a mean right hook._

Scorpius sighed. Zabini really should have gone with Al. His best friend occasionally glanced at the pretty Gryffindor, but didn't seem to notice her abject misery as he paid attention to his date, Rose Weasley's best friend. Sophia (Lily called her Sophie) was going out of her way to be pleasant to Scorpius, Lily, James and Hugo, but often cast snide looks at the Zabini twins when Albus' back was turned. Scorpius hoped his friend wouldn't expect him to spend more time with her after the ball.

As for Lily, Scorpius had felt an unfamiliar rage as she floated in the room in a long dress. Part of the rules of the dance was that students had to wear their date's house colors. Scorpius had teased Lily for days, loudly announcing that she would look much better in green and that yellow would clash horribly with her hair. Her dress, however, a strapless in different shades of yellow, was fitted perfectly around her bust and floated almost dreamily around her legs, showing off her curves to perfection. The shades of yellow complemented her red gold hair (in her trademark ponytail, with loose curls framing her face) and sparkling hazel eyes perfectly. The light flush on her cheeks, simple lipstick and almost imperceptible eye makeup had reduced Scorpius to a stuttering idiot, and had kindled a newfound hatred towards her date. His only consolation was that Scamander was scowling at them from the other end of the room too.

Lily Potter was slightly uncomfortable as she spun around the room. Eli Wood was very good looking, but they didn't seem to have much in common other than quidditch. Lily liked the sport, but if she heard the words "Puddlemere United" one more time, she was going to impale herself with a fork. And she was worried about Maddie. Her best friend had been absolutely miserable since that night in the common room, knowing, as well as Lily did, that shy Albus was unlikely to ask her out again. Al's date's triumphant smirks didn't seem to help things either. Lorc didn't seem to notice his date's obvious lack of attention, as he stared across the room at Dominique Weasley. And Malfoy looked like he was about to pick a fight with Eli, Xander, or probably both of them. When Eli started talking about his upcoming trials with Puddlemere in the middle of the dance floor, Lily looked up, flashed her best smile (emphasizing her dimple for good measure), and asked for some punch. Her date, momentarily put out, gave her a gallant bow and made his way towards the punch bowl, as Lily made a beeline for her friends. She was about to approach Maddie when she saw her best friend heading towards the dance floor with Scorpius Malfoy.

Scorpius Malfoy expertly twirled Madeline Zabini around the dance floor, trying to distract her from Albus and his date. Albus had spent all week insisting that Maddie's refusal meant that she only saw him as a friend, and had accepted Sophia Creevey's invitation after extracting a promise from Rose that her best friend was _completely normal_. He seemed to be having a decent time, but Madeline had been staring at them all night, not even dancing once with her date. The sight of Lily Potter smiling at that Wood git _may_ also have infuriated him a little bit. Just a little.

Maddie smiled at the irony of their situation. The only ones in their little group who were genuinely enjoying themselves at this "House Unity Ball" were her twin and Hugo (whose father had sent him a howler threatening to disown him for wearing Slytherin green) and, as much as she hated to admit it, Albus Potter. Scorpius' hands seemed to clench around her waist as he noticed Lysander Scamander moving to sit beside Lily.

"You like her, don't you?"

Scorpius blinked as he stared at the petite brunette in the dark blue dress. When had Maddie shifted her attention from Al, anyway?

'Of course I don't. She's always been Al's annoying kid sister. Didn't she tell you how I made her cry in first year. And second?' Scorpius could _feel_ his ears start to burn as he fought to defend himself.

"Whatever you say, Malfoy. Just make sure you tell her before it's too late. Potters can be pretty obtuse" Maddie Zabini cast a bitter smile at Al Potter and Sophia Creevey, twirling around the dance floor. As he spun his partner around, Scorpius' mood darkened as he glared at the blond Ravenclaw making his best friend's sister laugh at the other end of the room. Maybe he did like Lily Potter a little after all.

AN: What do you think? I know it's a little sad, but I like to extend the plot a little. My schedule's finally started to clear up a little, so I can actually update stuff again Please review, and a very special thank you to everyone who reviewed and emailed me prodding me for updates!


	8. Chapter 8

Scorpius Malfoy sat miserably by the still form in the hospital wing, surrounded by Potters and Zabinis. Ellie Zabini, Hugo Weasley, Rose Weasley and Frank Longbottom had left around dinner-time, but the others were sitting by the hospital bed, silent.

"How could, you Malfoy? How could you DO it?"

Scorpius bit his lip, blinking back tears as he looked at the inert body again. He was too upset to even register the fact that the usually calm and quiet Maddie Zabini was yelling at him. Looking up slightly, he cast a guilt ridden look at the hunched figure right beside the hospital bed.

_It was the Gryffindor-Slytherin grudge match. Scorpius and Albus were in rare form. Flint knew that Goyle was no match for Lily in terms of seeking, so he had trained his chasers extra hard. Their strategy was to score as many goals as possible before the snitch was found. That way, they could still possibly win the game. Their beaters were instructed to focus their attention on Lily Potter – to try and delay her as far as possible, giving Albus and Scorpius a chance to score._

_Unfortunately, James Potter, being captain that year, had also trained his team well. Slytherin were only slightly ahead – James and Hugo were defending well and Mclaggen, whatever his faults, was a damned good keeper. It of course, didn't help that Scorpius was often visibly distracted by Gryffindor's fourth year seeker. _

"_Oi! Head in the game, Scor!" Albus Potter was alarmed as a bludger whizzed past his best friend's head. After the House Unity ball, Albus had somewhat come to terms with the fact that his best friend might have genuine feelings for his sister, but the git was going to get himself killed. _

_Scorpius looked up and grinned at his friend. Lily Potter had shot straight towards the Gryffindor stands, sharply turning her broom before she crashed. The cheeky smile she flashed at him made his heart stop for just a nanosecond. She had been casting glares at Sophie Creevey all through the game as she sat in the stands decked out in Slytherin green, screaming Albus' name in her loud, annoying voice. The look of fright on Sophie's face as Lily hurtled towards her was classic – and of course, Scorpius noticed Lily's brilliant red gold hair flying in the wind. It had almost been worth getting hit._

"_Oi, Malfoy. You can hit on Potter after the game" Marcus Flint was furious. His star chaser had broken formation twice, once to execute a complicated and unnecessary spin that had cost him the quaffle, and once to loudly invite Lily Potter to the Slytherin victory party. _

_Scorpius' competitive side kicked in as he zigzagged across the pitch with Albus Potter, preparing to shoot. Turning on his broom, he knocked the quaffle into Gryffindor's third hoop, to the delight of the Slytherin fans in the room. He turned towards the Gryffindor seeker and cast her a triumphant look as Jordan's voice boomed over the loudspeaker._

"_AND MALFOY SCORES FOR SLYTHERIN. THE TOTAL IS NOW 120-100 SLYTHERIN. IF SOMEONE DOESN'T CATCH THE SNITCH SOON, IT LOOKS LIKE THOSE SNAKES ARE GOING TO – OI" _

_Scorpius snickered as he imagined professor mcgonagal snatching the microphone from Jordan. He loudly blew Lily a kiss as she flew past, glaring at him. Scorpius noticed a round object being hurled in his direction. Distracted and almost mechanically, he caught it and threw it in the direction of his best mate."_

"It's not his fault, Maddie"

Scorpius looked up, surprised, as Lily Potter's tearful voice interrupted her friend in mid tirade.

"He thought it was a quaffle. Merlin knows how he's stupid enough to make that mistake, but he would never intentionally hurt Al"

Scorpius buried his face in his hands, taking deep breaths to try and control his tears. He was NOT going to cry in front of Lily Potter. James had been oddly silent as well as he sat in the hospital wing with the others. He had hit the bludger in Scorpius' direction in the first place – he was trying to prevent Slytherin from scoring again.

'L-l-look at him, Lils' Madeline Zabini's eyes were swollen as she stared at her best friend's brother. Even though she was supposedly dating Ernest Macmillan, the sight of Al Potter hurt affected her more than she cared to admit.

"Alright, everybody out" Madam Patil tried to shoo the students out of the room. It was rare that Albus Potter was a patient of hers – his troublemaking brother and his best friend were usually her best customers. She had had to spend an hour chasing away sobbing fangirls when he was brought in by his distraught teammates. She didn't expect to be able to get rid of Scorpius Malfoy and his siblings, but the Zabini girl surprised her. She reminded Madam Patil of Ginny whenever Harry was injured during their school days.

"But Madam Patil, we're not tired at all. And we'll be quiet" Lily Potter tried to flash her most charming smile on the usually strict matron. Unfortunately Madam Patil was notoriously good at resisting her puppy eyes.

'Family can stay' The matron's lip twitched slightly into an almost-smile. "But I can't have too many people in here. You'll disturb the other patients.'

"I'm not leaving"

Lily froze as she turned towards the Malfoy scion. He hadn't said a word since the game, and had sat quietly, listening to Maddie's teary rants, staring at her brother with an unreadable expression on his face. The genuine guilt and pain in his voice stabbed at her. Grudgingly, she had to admit one thing – no matter how much of a git Scorpius Malfoy was to her (and to the Hogwarts Population at large) he was a good friend to her brother.

Lily Potter and Maddie Zabini stumbled in to breakfast, tired and rumpled. They had all been kicked out of the hospital wing at 2am that morning, but neither Lily nor Maddie had been able to sleep. Ernest had been waiting for them, looking uncomfortable as Maddie picked at her food. And Sophie Creevey's loud, annoying voice going on about how she was SO WORRIED about Al was grating on Lily's last nerve. She looked up when she heard a loud squeal from the Gryffindor table.

Albus Potter had entered the room with his exhausted looking best mate. Scorpius Malfoy looked as though he hadn't slept in days. The Potter siblings exchanged jubilant smiles as they made their way to the Slytherin table, engulfing their brother in a bone crushing display of sibling affection.

"Oi, you're going to send me back in there Lils. Gerroff" Al grinned as his sister pounced on him, and James thumped him on the back, proclaiming loudly how he knew Potters were indestructible. His girlfriend squealed and ran towards him, chattering about how worried she had been and how she hadn't slept the whole night, and how she would have camped out in the hospital wing if Madam Patil had let her.

'Really? James and I were there all night, and we didn't see you. Lils and Maddie had to get kicked out by Madam Patil before they would move. I hear there was a cracking victory party in the Gryffindor common room, though' Scorpius' sardonic smirk caused the blonde Gryffindor to freeze momentarily, before grabbing her boyfriend and smothering him with kisses, tossing a triumphant glare at the Gryffindor table.

"Interesting that you were so worried you had time to put lipstick on this morning, Sophie" Lily grinned. She knew she was supposed to be nice to her brothers' girlfriends, and she usually was. Sonia Corner had become one of her best friends. Sophie, however, was a different story. Lily knew that no matter what Rose said in her defence, Sophie was not good for Al. She was another Potter fan, she just hid it a lot better. Surprisingly Malfoy seemed to agree with her on this. Lily met a pair of stormy grey eyes behind her brother's shoulder and winked. Sophie's blatant deceit was not going to go unpunished.

Albus smiled crookedly. He was a teenaged bloke, and wasn't going to turn down kisses, but Sophie could be a bit… excessive at times. Public displays of affection embarrassed him. He wiped the lipstick from his face and chanced a glance at the Gryffindor table. Maddie Zabini was hunched over her plate, picking at her food. Her usually pretty face was tired, and she had dark circles under her eyes as she seemed to ignore what Macmillan was saying to her. He smiled slightly as he met her eyes before turning towards his friends, family and his girlfriend, who seemed to be in the midst of planning an "Al is back" party in the Room of Requirement that night.

AN: I tried to give you an extra long chapter to make up for my delay in updating. Let me know what you think.. now that I actually have time again, I'm going to base my updating priority partly on the number of reviews I get for each fic. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me.


	9. Chapter 9

Scorpius Malfoy sat on his bed, silent as his best mate unpacked. Lily and Albus had just arrived, but already Scorpius had been embarrassed. It was all Lily's fault, if she hadn't let herself get so damned pretty over the break, Scorpius wouldn't have been so completely tongue tied when he saw her. Scorpius could still feel the dryness in his throat when he saw his best friend's sister arrive at his gate.

Lily Potter had _grown_. She was wearing short shorts that showed her long, lightly tanned legs and her fitted tee shirt emphasized her _curves_. She was wearing lip gloss, and had abandoned her trademark ponytail in favor of loose red gold waves that hung down her back. Scorpius was sure he was ogling. At his mother's insistence, he had stepped forward and took her hand, giving her his customary kiss, but found himself reluctant to let go when she tried to follow her brother into the manor. Lily had tugged impatiently, yanking her hand away and running to deposit her bags in the guest room before making her way to the Zabinis' mansion next door, while Scorpius was still rooted to his front lawn.

"Mate, if you like her that much, just ask her out. Preferably NOT in front of the entire school, like you do everyday." Al Potter surprised himself at how sympathetic he was towards his friend. Maybe it was because he caught the soft way Scorpius looked at Lily – it wasn't the same lascivious looks she got from most of the other boys, especially towards the end of the year, when she had started to fill her uniform out more. Of course, Scorpius never admitted to being soppy.

'Already taken care of that. THIS TIME she'll say yes' Scorpius Malfoy grinned, ignoring his best friend's dubious look. Honestly, Scorpius had no idea why Albus had no faith in him where Lily was concerned. Weren't half the girls in Slytherin running around in tee shirts with his name and quidditch number on them? He also had had no trouble rounding up a date for the house unity ball and most Hogsmeade weekends after Al abandoned him for Sophie and Lily turned him down.

Albus Potter found himself growing slightly optimistic. Lily hadn't yet charged into the room threatening to murder his best friend. Maybe he had just left a sensible note by her bedside table, or something. His hopes were dashed when the boys heard a loud scream from the direction of the Malfoy guest bedroom.

"Scorpius bloody Malfoy!" Lily Potter was quite upset. Someone should have bloody warned her before opening the door that she was going to be ambushed by sunset roses. Long stemmed sunset roses. With thorns. That were alive. And attacking her. She stomped towards the boys' room, badly scratched.

'Bloody hell, Lils. What happened to you?' Albus Potter was concerned. His sister looked like she had fought a battle with a bramble bush and lost. Badly.

"Your GIT of a friend" Lily cut off her rant to cast a famous death glare at Malfoy, who looked slightly sick at the sight of the blood trickling from her arms, legs and temples "filled my room with roses. Murderous ones. With thorns"

'I-I-I… those flowers were supposed to be normal, cut flowers. You like sunset roses!' Scorpius was, for the second time that day, tongue tied. The sight of Lily Potter bleeding upset him more than he was willing to let on.

"Not when they're trying to bloody kill me. And unlike SOME people, I can't perform magic outside of Hogwarts yet!"

Scorpius paled slightly. 'H-how badly did they hurt you?'

Lily Potter rolled her eyes, almost enjoying the look of terror and guilt on Malfoy's face.

"What does it look like?"

'We need to get you to St. Mungo's. Those look painful! And could be dangerous!'

"What? No! Your mum says she has some excellent healing potions"

Lily squealed as Scorpius Malfoy picked her up, tossed her over his shoulder, and strode out the door with his new Nimbus Lightning 2020.

'That bloody portrait insisted it would work. He said girls love it when your surprise them with their favorite flower' Scorpius growled as his best friend tried to write a letter to his girlfriend. For some reason, Sophie had been pretty put out when Albus had told her he was going to visit Malfoy Manor over the summer. She had expected to be invited to the Potters, and had been absolutely furious when Lily had (rather smugly) pointed out that the Malfoys lived next to the Zabinis. Albus had had to promise two letters a day to calm her down. Personally, Scorpius didn't consider Sophie worth the effort, but his mate seemed content.

"You took dating advice from Sirius Black?" Albus scoffed at his friend. So that was why Scorpius had been hanging around the portrait of the Marauders by Gryffindor tower.

'He was supposed to be the Hogwarts heartthrob'

'Besides, I wanted my first legal act of magic outside of Hogwarts to be something I did for her'

"Does she know that? She probably thinks you were trying to hurt her or something"

'If I wanted to HURT her I wouldn't keep asking her out, now would I?'

Albus shrugged as his best mate continued ranting about how impossible his sister was. He was almost able to drown Scorpius' voice out as he quickly finished his letter. Al Potter had heard the loud voices of his sister, Greg Zabini and the Zabini twins downstairs, and was suddenly seized by an overwhelming urge to play quidditch.

Draco Malfoy chuckled slightly as he spotted his son brooding under a tree by the quidditch pitch. He and Albus had just lost a pickup game of quidditch to Lily Potter and Zabini's son. While Albus had been happy to congratulate the victors, Scorpius had been in a foul mood for an hour, occasionally glaring murderously in the general direction of his group of friends.

"You really like her, don't you" Draco had come to terms with it. Being related to Potter didn't bother him nearly as much as the prospect of being related to Weasley. Potter often had had to resort to drastic measures to get him and Ron Weasley to work together. Draco still chuckled at how the bumbling fool had once almost compromised an entire mission by screaming at the sight of a few arachnid – and then blamed Draco for not warning him about the fact that there were spiders at the old Mulciber mansion.

'I'd like her better if she'd _lose_ at quidditch' Scorpius groused. Draco shook his head indulgently at his son's rueful smile. They both knew that Lily Potter was the only girl who could outfly Scorpius Malfoy, and Scorpius was more than a little impressed by it. Scorpius seemed more bitter about the fact that his best friend's sister was celebrating with her best friend's seventh year brother.

'She's been flirting with Greg Zabini all week'

Draco raised a pale eyebrow at his son.

"Since when did that ever stop a Malfoy?"

Draco Malfoy smirked as his son stood and approached his friends, a determined look in his eyes and winced slightly as he bent down on one knee, offering to take Lily to muggle London to watch "that show she likes with the ugly bloke in a mask who sings and fancies that opera singer." Scorpius must have gotten that from his mother's side of the family.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Thanks to ALL my reviewers and especially those who have been emailing me reminding me to get off my lazy duff and post a new chapter. This one's for you

Lily Potter groaned as she exchanged pained looks with Scorpius Malfoy. It was strange – even at the start of the year, if anyone had told her she would have anything in common with the blond sixth year git, she would have laughed her arse off. She had had to use some of Uncle George's best jinxes on him on the train when he had laughed his arse off at her for making prefect, and made snarky remarks about her patrol schedule after she, Al, Ellie, Hugo and Xander rejoined him and Maddie in their compartment. Lily couldn't understand why his ribbing had switched from good natured teasing to bitter mockery the minute he found out Xander was the Ravenclaw prefect. And she didn't know what his problem was with Xander, anyway. Xander often met Lily at lessons and in the library bruised and bitter, and complained about Malfoy being an evil bully. Lily didn't witness too many of their altercations, but found it hard to reconcile the image of Malfoy at school, picking on Xander and other innocent boys with the Malfoy over the summer, who was an arrogant, irritating toerag but never malicious. Except where murderous roses were involved. No one else, however, was subjected to Lily's brother's annoying girlfriend as much as Scorpius Malfoy, and Lily had found him to be an excellent whingeing partner of late.

"Did you see what she did on Al's Wizbook page?"

'A post everyday about HER classes and HER life, on HIS wall, signing off with those annoying X's' Lily rolled her hazel eyes. Even Rose had found that a little bit excessive. Just a smidge.

"She might as well piss all over him" Scorpius Malfoy wasn't going to pretend that he didn't enjoy the moments where Lily treated him like a human being. Also, her delighted grin at his sarcasm gave him SLIGHT chills.

'Don't give her any ideas'

Scorpius twisted his lips into the Malfoy smirk as Lily grinned conspirationally at him. Lily Potter's snarkiness could be appreciated fully when it wasn't directed at him. He fingered his wand thoughtfully. Maybe now would be a good time to ask Lily to Hogsmeade – girls liked fireworks, right? He almost cursed aloud when his best friend approached, interrupting his muttered incantation.

"Guess what we're doing this Hogsmeade weekend, guys?" Albus Potter's tone was bright, cheery, and forced.

'We? You mean Sophie's not going to drag you to Madame Puddifoots and snog your face off while the rest of us actually have fun?' Lily knew her tone was slightly bitter but she couldn't help it. Since the summer, Sophie had been clinging to Al like a barnacle. Maddie, too, had been laughing with Al, Lily, Ellie and Malfoy all summer, but the minute Sophie showed up, she had become quiet and distant, preferring to avoid the Slytherin parts of the castle completely. All this left Lily with very little time to spend with one of her two favorite brothers. And that made Lily _very_ unhappy.

"Actually, WE are going to a concert in Hogsmeade this weekend. The three of us, plus Maddie, Ellie, Hugo and Rose. Frank and James may join us too." Albus beamed at his wide eyed sister and surprised best mate. He saw the sod everyday, but truthfully, he had missed their little summer group. For some reason, it wasn't as much fun to include Sophia in their shenanigans as he'd expected. She mostly wanted him to spend time with her friends, or snog.

"Just us? That's fantastic, mate" Scorpius was glad to be rid of Sophie, even for a day. She hadn't seemed willing to let Al out of her sight since school started. She had even been taking her meals at the Slytherin table, usually perching herself on Albus' lap while Al just looked uncomfortable. Even making fun of Al for having a new "shadow" had lost its appeal.

'Who's singing?' Lily was suspicious. Al seemed too uncomfortable for this to be a no strings attached, Sophie-free weekend. Her eyes narrowed as her brother cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Scorpius groaned when his best friend refused to look him in the eye and mumbled something about a "new Hogwarts band". He sometimes wondered if it would be out of line to hit his mate in the head with a couple more flying bludgers – maybe that would knock some sense into him.

"Don't tell me.. Gryffindor girls" Scorpius moaned as Lily's eyes widened. She had heard her brother's girlfriend giggling with her two closest lackeys about forming a new "girl band" after Hogwarts – while Rose was studying or in one of her Frank induced hazes. Albus Severus Potter was NOT going to put her through _that_. No. bloody. Way.

'I can't believe we're here' Lily Potter had bitched and moaned with Maddie and Ellie, Hugo, Malfoy and her brother all the way to the Three Broomsticks. Even Rose had looked mutinous at the thought of wasting her visit from Frank, and James was pretty busy laughing his arse off at his indignant brother, as his girlfriend smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

"You lot are family. What am I doing here" Maddie Zabini was uncharacteristically bitter. She had no idea why she was being such a masochist – she was volunteering to watch Albus Potter drool over his slaggy girlfriend onstage. She supposed it was better than watching him get _attacked_ all the time.

'You know you can't survive long without us Potters' Al Potter was pretty shy with girls, but he was still related to the famous James Potter of the marauders. He could be charming when he wanted to be. Oddly enough, he seemed more relaxed than he had been all year.

"Wow. I thought love made you blind. I didn't know it made you deaf too, mate" Scorpius Malfoy clapped his best friend on the back while the rest of the table shouted with laughter. The Three Broomsticks had cleared out within five minutes of the set, with Madam Rosmerta insisting on an intermission while she hid her expensive glassware in a safe. Sonia had grabbed her boyfriend's hand every time he reached for his wand, knowing he was probably about to Silencio the screeching trio onstage, at the very least.

'She should take up painting' Lily whispered to Malfoy, blushing slightly at the way his ears reddened.

"Oh, and why's that?"

'Because if she paints we won't have to listen to her. We'll just have to look at her paintings'

"Al will still con us into buying one for the Manor"

'Us?'

"When we're married"

Scorpius smirked as he watched Lily Potter's retreating back, ignoring the roars of her family members and the red and gold furry horns that were starting to grow from his head. That had gone rather well, by his standards.

Scorpius Malfoy paced on the quidditch pitch, impatient for his best friend's sister to be done with her Defence O.W.L. They needed to plan for the summer – Albus had been in a blue funk ever since he had caught his girlfriend in a broom closet with the Ravenclaw quidditch captain, and Lily had suggested a summer trip to visit their Uncle Charlie in Romania. He glared slightly as Lysander Scamander left the hall, stared right at him and made a big show of rubbing his forearm where a Dark Mark would have been.

'You know he has a date with Potter tomorrow' Kyle Nott knew of his friend's obsession with the Potter girl, and figured Scorpius only needed a little bit of an incentive to hex the smirking blond git into oblivion. Since James Potter's graduation, Scorpius Malfoy had landed most of Lily Potter's dates in the hospital wing. Kyle despised the princely way Scamander lorded his "heroic" ancestors over most of the Slytherins, and made cryptic death eater jokes when the Potters' backs were turned. Truthfully, Kyle didn't know what Lily Potter saw in the little slug. He smiled slightly as Scorpius marched up to the blond Scamander twin, lounging by a tree and apparently waiting for his brother or Lily.

"Batting a little out of your league, _Salamander_?" Scorpius' voice was low and dangerous, causing the Ravenclaw prefect to gulp slightly.

'Jealous, Malfoy? Potters don't date filth like you. You probably want to keep her tied up and tortured in your basement, like her aunt Hermione and her dad were'

Scorpius turned white, and gripped his wand. His voice was cold when he eventually spoke. "Scourgify"

Kyle Nott bit back a grin as Lysander Scamander's mouth filled with soap bubbles. Scorpius was about to turn around when the fifth year sputtered.

'How many times did you ask her out again? Fifty? A thousand? I asked her once and she said yes.'

Scorpius glared and with a whip of his wand, the Salamander was suspended in midair, upside down. His heart sank he heard a familiar voice, shaking with rage.

'Scorpius. Bloody. Malfoy'


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Dedicated to those who emailed me demanding a new chapter. You know who you are ;)

James Sirius Potter was annoyed. He hadn't wanted to admit it, but he had looked forward to seeing his siblings that summer. He loved his job; Uncle Ron had wept tears of joy when he heard that James had chosen to sign with the Canons, and declared him his favorite son, earning glares from Hugo and several nights on the couch. And having Sonia as the team healer was a definite plus. But he had missed spending time with his brother and sister while they were at Hogwarts. He had been excited by Malfoy's idea of a "kids only" holiday to cheer Al up, but the way things were going, it was likely to be the most silent trip since Uncle Ron and dad had that fight about allowing Draco Malfoy to help with the Death Eater raids. Albus and Lily had been holed up in their rooms since returning from the station, and Malfoy, when he wasn't pounding on Lily's door, trying to apologize, was moping with Al.

James didn't exactly approve of the attention Scorpius Malfoy was giving his sister. It was one thing when he was hitting on her everyday at Hogwarts, with no hope of success. James could afford to be amused then, and chalk it up to the joking rivalry between his sister and his brother's best friend. This time, the genuine pain on Malfoy's face disturbed James. He knew that Malfoy was serious about Lily, and if Lily ever agreed to go out with him, James would be replaced as the number two man in his sister's life. He wasn't daft enough to think that he outranked their father, but he was a much more entertaining brother than Albus, he was sure. He also didn't want Lily in a serious relationship. His Lily could get hurt, and Merlin knew what unspeakable things Lucius Malfoy had taught his grandson. James also knew, however, that with his siblings currently in self imposed solitary confinement, his best bet to get any information and salvage the summer lay with the Malfoy scion. He rolled his hazel eyes at the pathetic blond, moping in the corridor outside Lily's room. He guessed he could afford to be charitable – _his_ Lils didn't seem to be giving the bloke the light of day, anyway.

"OK, Malfoy. What happened?" James was careful to keep his tone slightly menacing. Malfoy may have grown up with the Potter kids, but he needed to know that _if_ he was going to actually try to date Lily, he was in trouble.

Scorpius gulped. James Sirius Potter had bulked up during months of quidditch training, and he had seen first hand what happened to the boys that hit on Lily at Hogwarts. Not that it mattered, as Lily wouldn't even _speak_ to him at the moment. He didn't think James would like what he had to say, but he told him the whole sorry story, starting with Lysander's date with Lily.

'The little git and I never liked each other. The way he hung around Lily, the way he glared and tattled to her, the way he would rub it in every time Lily turned me down. I'll admit that I often used to pick fights with him, but he was exactly the same. And somehow it would always end up being my fault.'

James grunted. He knew Lily had, for some unknown reason, had a crush on Scamander when Teddy and Victoire got together. He hadn't known the little git was trying to ask out his baby sister, though. Looking at the Malfoy scion consideringly, James decided he would give him a break. At least he had been open and honest about his feelings for James sister. He would still kick his arse if Lily _ever_ agreed to go out with him, but until then, James would _try_ to control his temper around him. Sonia would be proud.

Knocking on Lily's door, he smiled slightly when she opened it. She always had a soft spot for her big brother. Pushing the door open, he unceremoniously shoved Malfoy in before heading to Al's room to talk some sense into his other sibling. Honestly, those two wouldn't survive without him.

"Get out, Malfoy" Lily's voice was cold, and her hazel eyes were puffy. Scorpius' heart constricted at the sight of it – he would _almost_ rather have her date Scamander if it meant her smiling again. Almost.

'Lils, you know we have to try to get along. For Albus, this summer was supposed to be about him.'

"For ALBUS" Lily snorted, choking a little, "If you were so worried about us getting along for ALBUS, you wouldn't have gotten into a fight with my date."

'He started it! Besides, you heard what he said when you separated us!'

_Flashback:_

"_Scorpius. Bloody. Malfoy" _

_Even Kyle had looked a little afraid when a red faced Lily Potter marched across the lawn towards them. Scorpius had dropped Scamander. Lily had been angry with him before, but he had never seen her this absolutely furious. After he hit the ground, Lysander had flown at Scorpius, and the two blonds were fought furiously, muggle style. It had taken Lily at least ten minutes to pull Lysander off her brother's best mate. Scorpius was almost afraid of the way she shook with rage, unable to speak for a few moments._

'_Let's go, Lily. We need to get away from the death eater scum over here'_

_Scorpius had smirked when Lily Luna Potter had turned her wrath on the Salamander. Even he knew it was unwise to say anything when Lily was angry, as her supposed best friend, Scamander should have known this._

"_Draco Malfoy is one of the kindest men I've ever met. He risks his life daily with my dad, helping to track down former death eaters. He did his time in Azkaban for his involvement in the war, most of it at the behest of his father."_

'_You hate him more than anyone, Lils. You saw what he did.'_

_Scorpius wasn't sure whether to be happy at Lily's response._

"_Do you really think Al would even think of being friends with someone who follows the dark arts? Malfoy isn't a death eater. I don't like him because he's a git."_

_Lily had turned on her heel and stalked off, and Lysander had stayed, looking mutinous. He was about to throw a punch at Scorpius' smirking face, when he was intercepted by Kyle Nott._

"_I'm not sure you want to do that, mate. He landed Thomas in the hospital last month for making a date with her, and Thomas was his potions partner."_

"He stood me up the next day because I defended you, Malfoy." Lily knew she was being petulant, but she couldn't help it. She was upset.

'He stood you up because he was afraid of getting his arse kicked' Scorpius scoffed. The salamander was so obvious.

Lily Potter narrowed her hazel eyes staring at the blond who was now seated right next to her, on her bed. For some reason, his close proximity was making her blush. A little.

'Think about it, Lils. He's been following you around like a puppy for years, but hasn't said anything because James was at Hogwarts, and Merlin knows what James does to your boyfriends. When James graduates, he asks you out. The minute he found out that I beat up Thomas, he went into hiding like the bloody coward he is.'

"You WHAT?" Lily was slightly outraged. She had enjoyed her date with Eric Thomas, and had been disappointed and confused when she never heard from him after.

'Er… details. So. It isn't _my_ fault he didn't go out with you, Lils.'

"Yes it is! Why _would_ he want to wind up in the hospital wing for a week, just to go out with a girl?"

Scorpius felt white hot indignation bubbling up inside him at the thought of Lily Potter describing herself as _just_ a girl.

'I'd gladly take a beating from James, Albus AND Teddy, not to mention your father the Head Auror himself who has almost as many chocolate frog cards as Dumbledore, if you would give me a chance, Lils'

Lily turned to look at the blond sitting next to her. His intense grey eyes caused her heart to skip a beat, and suddenly she found herself remembering the reasons for her crush on him when she was thirteen.

"Why?"

'Why?' Scorpius was perplexed. He had expected to get shoved off the bed by now. He gulped slightly; he wasn't used to looking so directly into her beautiful hazel eyes. Unthinkingly, he twirled a finger in her long, red gold hair.

'You're beautiful, Lils'

Lily blushed. The only ones who had ever described her as beautiful had been her father, and recently, Xander. "And…"

'And?'

"And what else?"

'What else is there?'

Scorpius landed on the ground with a loud thump as Lily Potter shoved him off her bed and threw her favorite pillow at him. She should have known better than to think Malfoy actually had genuine, serious feelings for her. He grinned up at her as she glared. He was quite good at masking his disappointment at each rejection. This time, at least, she hadn't hexed him or compared him to a mandrake. He must remember to tell Al and Kyle that he was making _progress_.

AN: I know there isn't much happening in this chapter, but I'm setting the stage for their trip, which will be _awesome_! Also, I wanted to develop James' character a little more, and add another teeny tiny Swan Princess reference.


	12. Chapter 12

'Yes, I _know_ she didn't hex you after you asked her out this time' Al Potter rolled his walked through the garden at the Zabini manor. He and Scorpius had been sent to pick up Maddie, and Ellie, while Lily, James and Sonia prepared the portkeys for their trip. Albus had to admit, having his best mate around was taking his mind off the Sophia related drama that had characterized the end of his term. Al had felt betrayed more than anything else. Sophia had been the first girl he actually trusted for a long time, and he had given up a lot to make her happy. Too much, as Lily had constantly nagged. In his more melancholy moods, Al thought he might be better off avoiding dating for awhile.

'BLOODY HELL!' Albus was snapped out of his reverie by a brown haired blur pushing past him, chased by an infuriated Greg Zabini. Scorpius snickered as the terrified Hugo Weasley joined his cousin.

"Stay out of this, Potter"

'Leave him alone!' Ellie Zabini was breathless behind her brother, accompanied by her sister who looked confused and amused at the same time.

Albus caught Maddie's eye and smiled slightly. She seemed to be biting back a laugh as her sister berated their older brother and Hugo cowered slightly.

'I thought you were supposed to be at the Burrow, mate' Scorpius' smirk could rival that of his father as he considered the curly haired Gryffindor's disheveled appearance. And the hickey on his neck.

"Rose _suggested _I leave when I walked in on her and Frank snogging. I was just saying hello to my girlfriend" Hugo Weasley tried to look indignant. His blue eyes widened in fear as Greg Zabini struggled out of his sisters' combined grip and ran towards the fireplace, grabbing a pinch of Floo Powder from his cousin's hand on the way.

Snickering, Albus and Scorpius led the Zabini twins towards the fireplace as their older brother blinked in fury and incomprehension.

"He walked in on you _hugging_ Ellie" Lily tried to keep the amusement out of her voice as her soot covered cousin retold the tale of his narrow escape with gusto. Taking in the red cheeks of her friend who had just emerged from the fireplace, as well as the sniggering of her brother, his best mate and her best friend, Lily was sure her cousin wasn't exactly being honest. Besides, everyone knew how notorious Hugo and Ellie were with their PDAs. Lily, Al, Rose and Xander had been consistently traumatized during their rounds, catching them in various broom closets, classrooms and other snogging areas throughout the castle. Rose had gotten especially red faced about her brother's rule breaking, and had handed out a week's detention on the spot.

'You might want to fix that before Mum sees you, mate' James pointed his wand towards the round red mark on his cousin's neck, sniggering as he healed the scratch marks on his cousin's chest as well.

'You're a feisty little thing, aren't you?' he winked at the Zabini sister, who was turning redder by the minute. Bloody Hugo. How hard was a simple silencing charm, anyway?

"He mixed up the silencing and sonorous charms" Maddie Zabini finally felt it was safe to laugh at her sister without any dangerous repercussions.

"Greg and I were playing chess in the living room when we heard _exactly_ what was going on in Ellie's room. Two floors up."

'Oi, it's not my fault that I'm especially talented in certain areas' Hugo winked at his family, putting an arm around his mutinous girlfriend.

"Dragons!"

'Vampire museum!'

'National quidditch headquarters!'

The Zabini twins, Hugo, Scorpius and Sonia rolled their eyes as the Potter siblings argued over what they wanted to do. While the Potters were arguably the closest knit family in Hogwarts, differences of opinion among the Potter siblings were legendary. Scorpius and Maddie had learned that the best course of action was often to stay out of it. Sonia Corner, on the other hand, was used to James acting out, and stepped in between the arguing trio, sticking two fingers between her full lips and letting out a piercing whistle.

"We can all split up and do what we want. ,Maddie here would love the museum, and I believe Hugo wanted to see where the legendary Viktor Krum used to work. He and Ellie can come with us. Scorpius can join whichever group he wants. We can meet up at seven at Uncle Charlie's ranch to dress for dinner" with a toss of her long, dark hair Sonia Corner led her boyfriend aside, while Albus and Scorpius sniggered quietly. James Potter may strike terror in the hearts of most boys at Hogwarts (including Scorpius), but neither Slytherin had thought they would see him so whipped. They bit their lips hard, knowing that it would be foolish to risk retaliation. With twin Slytherin grins, Albus and Scorpius offered Maddie and Lily their arms, and headed off in separate directions.

Madeline Zabini blushed as she held on to the arm of the quiet, charming Slytherin. She had broken up with Ernie Macmillan the moment she heard that Albus was single again, _not that it was doing her any good_. For being the top of his year, Al was frustratingly clueless. At least he had started to joke around and laugh again after his eventful trip to the Manor.

'So, you were eavesdropping on Hugo and your sister – kinky'

"Shut up, Al" Maddie blushed as Albus Potter smirked at her, a twinkle in his emerald green eyes. He had always enjoyed spending time with Maddie. Sophia hadn't really taken his jokes too well, he was often a little more serious around her. Plus, she didn't really like it when their conversations didn't revolve around her. Maddie could talk with him about potions, Scorpius, Lily, his fears at being the newly appointed Head boy, the possible sex life of Professor Mcgonagal…it was a pity she probably never saw him as more than a friend.

'Check this out – apparently the Romanian ministry of magic released a story to the muggle press saying Dracula was based off of a cruel muggle prince'

"The real Dracula was a dark wizard who had built horcruxes and was using human blood to survive.. he was vanquished by Merlin himself! Lily would love this. She's always been a sucker for a good mystery"

'If I know my sister, she's sweet talking Uncle Charlie into letting her ride the Hungarian Horntail. And Scor is probably either telling her it's too dangerous, insisting on riding with her, or challenging her to a race'

"Should we have let them go off alone? There's a good chance you'll be out one best mate by the time we get back"

Albus grinned, taking in the way Maddie's nose crinkled a little when she was worried. He had forgotten how cute she could be. Summoning the small amount of Potter charm that he possessed, Albus winked and took her hand, completely unaware of the effect his actions were having on the soon to be sixth year. 'Scor is going to have to learn to fend for himself sometimes. Besides, I do believe we have a very capable future healer right her in Romania'

For what seemed like the dozenth time that day, Madeline Zabini blushed.

"I knew I should have gone to the vampire museum" Lily pretended to scowl as the Malfoy scion strutted around her uncle's dragon ranch, his arm hooked in hers. Away from England, Malfoy seemed downright tolerable. He was still prattish, but it was more of a good-humored cockiness that Lily found almost… charming. Almost.

'Come on, Lils. You know we can go there tomorrow. Wouldn't you rather spend the day with me? I can be the handsome prince rescuing you from ferocious dragons. You know, in those muggle fairy tales you like to read.'

"Are you sure you wouldn't be the princess? You look more like one than I do" Lily reached up and ruffled his platinum blond hair, giggling at the look of indignation on Malfoy's face. Her face lit up as she ran towards her uncle and his Hungarian Horntail. Her father, uncle and aunt had ridden a dragon during the war, Lily was sure she could do it too. As she mounted one of the gigantic reptiles, she grinned at her blond companion.

'Oi, Potter'

Lily raised an eyebrow. If Malfoy was going to try to stop her from riding…

'Race you!' Scorpius grinned as the redhead's competitive streak clicked into gear. He mounted the dragon next to Lily's and, despite ignoring her uncle's safety warning, the two teenagers took off.


	13. Chapter 13

AN: This chapter is dedicated to Mrs. Gotenks. I had some minor writer's block, but reading her one-shot inspired me

Scorpius Malfoy stopped short. He had just been spending a pleasant afternoon arguing with Lily Potter about the seeking ability or lack thereof of Andrei Krum when they ran into his parents. In the middle of a quaint wizarding village. In Romania. It wouldn't have been quite so bad if they weren't accompanied by Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Almost unconsciously, he stood protectively in front of Lily Potter, staring down his grandfather, who did _not_ look happy.

Lily, on the other hand, was fascinated. She had always thought Astoria Malfoy looked like a queen, but Narcissa was something else entirely. Scorpius' tall grandmother stood straight, dressed in regal looking robes, her long, silvery hair falling down her back like a waterfall. Lily tugged on the hem of her skirt, suddenly aware that she was wearing a simple sun dress and flat sandals, and stared, remembering her father's stories about Narcissa Malfoy.

'And who might your little friend be, Scorpius?' Lucius Malfoy's sneering tone snapped Lily out of her reverie. 'A Weasley, I'm assuming, although this one's expression doesn't look quite so vacant as the others' Scorpius eyed Lily as he saw her cheeks redden. It was just his luck that just when she was starting to be friendly with him, his grandfather came along and reminded her why her Uncle Ron had always told her to stay far, far away from all Malfoys. He scowled and introduced her, emphasizing her last name.

"This is Lily _Potter_, grandfather"

'Oh, my mistake. A mudblood' Lucius sneered as Draco Malfoy paled. He had learned to understand the implications of that term, and didn't wholly agree with his father's blood puritan ideals. He also liked the spunky girl. Scorpius, however, was enraged, and would have said something if Lily hadn't responded immediately.

"I'll have you know, Mr. Malfoy, the house of Potter is just as old and illustrious as the house of Malfoy. In fact, weren't the Potters among the founders of Wizarding Britain" Lily stood tall, imitating Scorpius' grandmother's proud bearing. She gave Lucius Malfoy her best sniff.

'That may be, but your father was a half blood, Potter' Lucius sneered at the pretty teenager in front of him. Insolent, just like her father.

"Wasn't your grandmother a half blood too? In Hufflepuff, if I recall correctly" Lily grinned, remembering the tales of the Malfoy/Black family told to her by Teddy's grandmother. Next to her, Scorpius burst out laughing, while Draco Malfoy made a strange, choking sound, as if he was trying to stifle a laugh. Lucius Malfoy looked caught out, while his wife eyed the Potter girl curiously.

'We are in town surveying some potential properties for investment' Narcissa Malfoy sniffed, looking at her grandson with a kind of regal warmth. 'Your parents informed us that you were traveling with your…' Narcissa broke off and cast another curious look at the Gryffindor 'friends. We wish to have dinner with _all_ of you at the Transylvanian castle restaurant tonight'

"We're traveling with my Uncle Charlie, my brothers, my brother's girlfriend, my cousin, Maddie and Ellie, madam" Lily decided she liked the old Mrs Malfoy, and spoke to her respectfully. Besides, she was a little in awe of the woman her father had described as having saved his life.

'See that they join us tonight at seven' Narcissa nodded and swept away, followed by her sputtering husband and bewildered son and daughter in law. Lucius was furious that their dinner was going to be ruined by a group of blood traitors, even if some of them _did_ belong to the oldest pureblood family in Britain. Draco and Astoria were simply shocked silent. They had never seen Narcissa issue an _invitation_ to random teenagers before. Dinners at Malfoy Manor when Lucius and Narcissa were in town were usually quiet, scary affairs. And they had certainly never seen Lucius Malfoy silenced by a teenaged girl.

"We don't have to go, Lils" Scorpius was determined not to let Lily get insulted further by his grandfather.

"Why not?"

"B-because! Merlin alone knows what's going to happen when we put Lucius Malfoy and Charlie Weasley in the same room. Not to mention James – I'm not sure if everyone will survive the night!"

Lily's hazel eyes flashed with mischief and she grinned, temporarily incapacitating Scorpius with a flash of her dimple. "He doesn't know that Hugo's dating Ellie, does he? Hey, do you think it's too late to summon uncle Ron? And George?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes at the mention of Lily's favorite uncle who… didn't quite have the best opinion of Slytherins in general, and Malfoys in particular. "We'd better leave before you decide to invite your grandfather Weasley. Or Harry Potter himself, that would get a reaction"

'Why do we have to wear dress robes, again?' James Sirius Potter tugged at his tie, while Al attempted for the millionth time to flatten his hair. After all the school balls and ministry parties he'd attended, he should have given up by now, but he was annoyingly persistent.

"Because my grandparents insist on formal dress at all times" Scorpius borrowed some of his best mate's hair gel and attempted to slick back his hair, like his father had at school.

'And why do we care what your grandparents think? None of us are marrying into your family, Malfoy' James' tone had a light note of warning, causing Scorpius to gulp slightly and Albus to pause, raising an eyebrow at his big brother.

"Ellie's dad is your dad's best friend! If Draco likes me, maybe they'll let me come and stay for the summer" Hugo Weasley was, as usual, missing the point and his hardest to knot his tie in the aristocratic fashion favored by pureblood families.

'Yeah, you'll just have to _not_ cast a sonorous charm when you're shagging her, mate.'

Lucius Malfoy glared in almost despair as Scorpius entered the dining room with the well dressed Potter/Zabini/Weasley clan. He had had high hopes of Scorpius agreeing to an arranged marriage with one of Blaise's daughters, but the way things looked, that was downright unlikely. Blaise Zabini had, despite his pureblooded ideals, insisted that his daughters not be forced into anything. The way young Elise clung on to the curly headed fop of a Weasley made _that_ unlikely. Lucius could only imagine the hue and cry that would arise if anyone even tried to break _those _two up. It would probably rival Draco's tantrum when Lucius had tried to get him married to the Parkinson girl. He cast his eyes speculatively towards the other Zabini twin. She was quieter than her sister, but she had immediately seated herself beside the young Harry Potter clone. She was quietly talking to him from the minute she arrived, and her eyes consistently sought him out. At least he was better than a Weasley, although Lucius felt he should talk to Blaise and his father about how he was bringing up his daughters. His heart gave a painful squeeze, however, when he saw how his own grandson looked at the Potter girl.

From the minute Lily Potter entered the room with her brothers and friends, in her bronze colored, floating dress, Scorpius had stared openly. Even now, despite being seated with his parents, he kept looking over the table at her in a way that the boy seemed to think was subtle. He snorted, his grandson was fooling no one.

'You do realize, Miss Potter, that my grandson will have an arranged marriage. He will marry a pureblood, of Slytherin heritage' Lucius spoke softly, careful that his grandson, sitting at the end of the table shouldn't hear him. Scorpius was young, and prone to _scenes_.

Lily blinked. For some reason, Malfoy's grandfather seemed to think she and Malfoy were _dating_. Ignoring the slight squeeze in her heart, she gathered her Gryffindor courage and looked up from her meal, right into the cold grey eyes of the Malfoy patriarch.

"You should probably tell him that. I think he fancies my cousin, Rose" Lily's voice was loud, and she noted with satisfaction how Malfoy choked on his food at the other end of the table.

'He will marry that Weasley girl over my dead body'

"He doesn't like Rose. He's been chasing Lily since third year!" Hugo Weasley spoke up from his pile of food. His grandmother and his uncle Harry were excellent cooks, but even the house elves at Hogwarts would have trouble rustling up this finery. Draco and Astoria Malfoy looked at their son, biting back amused smiles as he sank into his seat, embarrassed.

'He has?' Lucius raised an eyebrow. The Potter girl had the decency to look almost embarrassed, while her oafish cousin and oldest brother looked almost proud.

"Oh yeah. Hey, Scor didn't she turn you into a ferret that year when you hexed Xander after she turned you down?"

Lily glared murderously at her cousin as Draco Malfoy started to choke at the ferret reference.

"I'm sorry Mr. Malfoy. I think it was wrong of a teacher to do that to you, but your son really was being a git"

'As was I, Lily' Draco managed a weak smile as his wife laughed into her napkin. Astoria Malfoy couldn't remember when dinner with her in laws had been this entertaining.

At his mother's request, Scorpius hung back as the Potters, Weasleys and Zabinis left for Charlie Weasley's dragon ranch. He was almost afraid to hear what his grandparents had to say about the Potters, and in particular, Lily. He was almost guilty as he squirmed under his grandfather's beady glare.

'You have some charming friends, Scorpius.' Narcissa Malfoy gave her grandson a regal smile. James Potter reminded Narcissa of his namesake as well as her cousin, Sirius Black, who she had been close to before Hogwarts. Albus Potter was quiet and a perfect gentleman, and the girl was intelligent and spirited, much like her sister Andromeda. She seemed to respect and like Draco and Astoria, and was extremely chatty. Fifteen minutes into dinner, Narcissa had learned that she was a Gryffindor prefect, she was a seeker on the quidditch team and specialized in hexes that involved transfiguration.

'That Potter girl-'

"She really is a lovely girl, father. She has grown up around Scorpius and has spent numerous summers at the Manor" Draco Malfoy felt the need to interject. He had had a hard time coming to terms with his son's feelings for the Potter girl himself, but spending time with her had taught him that she was bright, beautiful and was able to challenge his son. She was also a good influence on him; Draco could see his son maturing slightly, for Lily's sake.

'Enough! Scorpius-'

Scorpius looked up, mutinous. If his grandfather banned him from all contact with Lily Potter, he was sure he would walk out from the room. The Potters might take him in; Scorpius grinned slightly at the thought of living in the same house as Lily Potter.

'Marry that girl' Lucius smirked. The Potter girl's pride in her heritage, her feisty attitude and her sheer audacity to laugh at Lucius' expense intrigued him. Besides, no one turned down his grandson.

"I intend to, grandfather"

AN: Again, this was inspired by Mrs. Gotenks' one shot. Check it out!


	14. Chapter 14

Scorpius Malfoy loved the beach. At the end of their trip to Romania, Albus had received an owl from his Aunt Fleur, asking if he and his friends would mind house sitting at her family villa in St. Tropez for a week, while accompanied his Uncle Bill to Egypt for a curse breaking conference. Albus had wasted no time in owling his parents and his cousin Rose, yelling for James, Hugo, Lily and Scorpius to be prepared for another trip.

Now, James and Hugo were tossing a quaffle around on the sand with Frank Longbottom, while Scorpius and Albus pretended to duel muggle style with fallen branches. James snorted when he saw his brother and Scorpius occasionally turning to look towards the villa.

'Oi Frank, here come our girls' James Sirius Potter swore he could almost hear music in the background as his girlfriend and his cousin walked down the beach, knowing smiles on their faces. Sonia's chocolate colored bikini matched her eyes perfectly, and she blushed slightly at her boyfriend's intent gaze. With a loud whoop, James and Frank ran towards them, picking their girlfriends up and running towards the surf. Hugo Weasley joined his cousin and Scorpius, who had abandoned their game in favor of a cold butterbeer on the deck chairs facing the sand.

"I haven't seen Rose looking this relaxed in months" Albus was thoughtful as he saw his cousin splash her boyfriend playfully.

'Hopefully she keeps it up. I could do with less detentions this year'

"Then try to keep it in your pants, Weasley, or at least don't get caught" Scorpius smirked as Hugo Weasley threw sand in his face.

"Oi, Hugo. Look" Albus smirked as his sister and the Zabini twins walked down the beach to join them. Hugo's eye grew wide as he saw Elise Zabini in a Gryffindor red bikini, with gold chain straps. She stopped in front of her boyfriend, smirking slightly at his stare and dropped a kiss on his lips.

'I hope neither of you are sharing a room with him. Something tells me they won't be doing much sleeping tonight' Scorpius snickered, but choked as he caught sight of Lily Luna Potter. Both Lily and Maddie were wearing matching deep green bikinis with intricate silver embroidery. Al's green eyes had widened too, as he noticed, well, how much Maddie had grown up. She had a toned stomach and her string bikini left a lot of her lightly tanned skin exposed. The dark green complemented her skin and long dark hair perfectly. Scorpius, however, was beyond staring. The deep green set off Lily's red gold hair, and brought out the green in her hazel eyes.

Lily and Maddie were standing around, blushing slightly at the stares they were receiving. Madeline Zabini had never seen Al Potter look so shocked and unsure around her. Lily was squirming a little. Malfoy looked as though he wasn't capable of talking or moving. Which was inconvenient, as Scorpius and Albus were hogging the only two deck chairs.

'Move, you fat git. There isn't really anywhere else for us to sit'

Lily's teasing voice snapped him out of his stupor as Scorpius smirked slightly, moving over to make room for his best mate's sister. Albus only smiled and shared his seat with Maddie, clenching his fists slightly to prevent himself from wrapping his arms around her. He was sure she wouldn't appreciate _that_.

"Slytherin colors, Potter? I'm flattered"

'Ellie blackmailed me into swapping with her' Lily Potter glared at her friend, who smiled brightly from the next chair.

'She wanted to surprise Hugo by wearing a Gryffindor bikini'

Hugo grinned widely as he kissed his girlfriend's cheek.

'She does make the most beautiful Gryffindor'

'Oi' Lily and Maddie pretended to look put out.

"I wonder what Greg would say if he saw this. He was already yelling at the hat when I was sorted into Gryffindor" Maddie chuckled slightly at the memory. Their brother had demanded she be resorted, insisting the hat was broken. Lily and Albus had had to cheer up the mortified girl after the feast.

'I think Potter makes an excellent Slytherin. The hat really must be broken'

'What are you two doing here?' Lily was disturbed to find her brother and his best mate outside her room in their pajama bottoms and tee shirts, grinning and ruffling their hair. Al really needed to stop spending so much time with Malfoy.

"Hugo kicked us out when Ellie came over to _visit_" Albus Potter decided to speak before his best mate said something stupid. The last thing he wanted was for his sister to slam the door in their faces – James and Frank would kill them if they decided to bother them in the middle of the night. And Albus really wanted to see Maddie before they left the next morning.

Lily sighed and opened the door, letting her brother and his best mate sprawl on the huge triple bed she shared with the Zabini twins. She smirked slightly as her best friend emerged from the bathroom and shrieked.

"Surprise?" Al's crooked smile caused Maddie Zabini to blush furiously. They had been spending a lot of time together on this trip, but he hadn't told her he felt particularly strongly towards her, one way or the other.

'The head boy's out after curfew. Not the best example for us little prefects' Lily Potter exchanged a conspiring smirk with Malfoy.

'Hey, Rose is out too.'

'Actually, Rose was saying earlier she might not accept the head girl position. She got offered a part time internship at the ministry that might take up all her free time, and with N.E. this year, she might not be able to devote all her time to Head duties. If she declines, Hannah Longbottom gets the job.' Lily gave her best friend a sympathetic glance as she spoke.

Maddie Zabini was quiet. While Frank's Hufflepuff sister had always been sweet and kind, Maddie wasn't sure she liked the idea of Al Potter sharing a living space with the beautiful blonde.

'I'm rather hoping Rose takes the job. At least I know I'll be able to work with her'

Scorpius rolled his eyes. Apparently these Potters were extremely obtuse when it came to twigging that people actually _liked_ them. Al had insisted all week that Maddie only saw him as a friend. It was hard to believe, but James was probably the most sensible of the lot in these matters, and that was saying something. Lily had extracted a solemn promise from him not to interfere, but he couldn't help but goad the Zabini twin into taking some _action_. If she had asked him out in her third year like Scorpius had Lily, Scorpius was sure Al and Zabini would have had many happy years of snogging under their belts.

"Longbottom is a prefect, like us, though"

'Like US?' Lily Potter was scandalized. The last thing she needed was for Scorpius to follow her around during rounds and hex her partners. Besides, she had been hoping prefect duty would allow her an opportunity to talk to Xander. With Malfoy around, there would be no chance of that.

"Needed another Slytherin prefect after Al got his little promotion here" Scorpius smirked slightly. The look on the Salamander's face when he entered the prefects' compartments would be priceless.

Madeline Zabini couldn't help but feel a little left out. She understood that her best friend was the Gryffindor prefect for her year, but it was a little disappointing to think that she would be the only one in their little group not attending the yearly Prefects meeting on the carriage that year. Even Ellie was the Slytherin prefect for their year. She felt a warm arm around her shoulder and looked gratefully into the green eyes of Albus Potter.

'Don't worry, Mads, we'll sneak you into the meeting with the cloak'

"Creevey'll _love_ that" Scorpius smirked, ignoring the twin glares he was receiving from both Potters in the room.

'What's it to that slag?' Lily's voice was cold. If Sophie thought she was getting her claws into her brother again, she had another think coming. Even Rose had stopped talking to her last term.

Albus rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable. He knew how strongly his sister disliked his ex girlfriend, and to be honest, spending time with Maddie this summer had left him wondering why he had ever dated Sophia in the first place.

'I got a letter from her this morning. Apparently she was _given a potion_ that made her fall for that Ravenclaw git, and being in St. Mungo's over the summer has helped her _clarify her thoughts_.' Albus rolled his eyes. He was curious about why his ex girlfriend had landed herself in the hospital, but he didn't believe a word she said. He was surprised when his sister started to snicker and her best friend's eyes widened, a telltale blush starting to darken her cheeks.

"How'd she wind up in St. Mungo's, anyway?" Scorpius was curious as to why Lily Potter seemed to be in danger of falling off the bed. Zabini's blush was downright suspicious.

'S-she… might have broke her nose' Lily managed to choke out between giggles, ignoring her best friend's furious pinch. Albus Potter's eyes widened as he stared between his sister and her friend.

'Ok, what did you two do?'

'Someone' Lily glanced at her friend, 'socked her in the nose when she found out what happened'

Scorpius grinned as he took in Zabini's discomfort and Lily's amusement. He held out a fist for the mortified Zabini twin to punch.

"Didn't think you had it in you, Zabini"

Albus stared at Maddie Zabini, something changing in his green eyes as he took in her fidgeting, and her inability to look him in the eye. If they had been alone, he definitely would have kissed her. Sensing this, his sister turned to look at Scorpius, mouthing the words "let's go" to him.

"But I wanna watch" Scorpius mouthed back, pouting like a naughty child. Rolling her eyes, Lily Luna Potter got up and physically dragged Scorpius Malfoy out of the room, leaving her brother and her best friend to _talk_.

"Since when did you get so strong, Potter?" Scorpius whined as he rubbed his nonexistent bruise. He was wondering if he should ask her to kiss it better.

'They needed to be _alone_, Malfoy.'

"Well, if they're snogging in there, James and Sonia are snogging in their room, Rose and Frank are snogging in their room, Hugo and Ellie are snogging in our room, we should snog too" Scorpius thought he was making a lot of sense. They were the best looking couple in the villa, he was sure.

'Shut up, Malfoy, they are in _love_.'

"So are we!" Scorpius was affronted.

Lily stopped and stared at him for a minute, before turning on her heel and heading towards the kitchen. 'You have no idea what it's like to be in love, Malfoy.'

Scorpius was silent as he followed Lily.

Albus smirked slightly as he looked at the girl he had secretly liked for the last five years. He was hoping he knew what Maddie's actions meant, but he needed to hear it.

'Why'd you punch Sophia in the nose, Maddie?'

Maddie Zabini mumbled something incoherent, silently cursing her best friend and Scorpius Malfoy for leaving her here.

"Was it because she cheated on me? And you didn't like seeing me hurt"

'SHE WAS AN UNGRATEFUL LITTLE GIT. HERE I AM SPENDING THE GOOD PART OF SIX YEARS TRYING TO GET YOU TO NOTICE ME, AND SHE ACTUALLY _GOES OUT_ WITH YOU AND SHE-'

Maddie Zabini's rant was cut short by the feeling of Albus Severus Potter's lips on hers. Maybe her best friend _didn't_ deserve to die after all.

AN: This chapter was only going to be half as long, but I couldn't sleep without writing Al and Maddie's kiss in. Please read and review, it can be my reward for my sleepless night ;D


	15. Chapter 15

Harry Potter smiled sadly as he and Ginny waved at their two youngest children. Al had seemed unusually jumpy and eager to get to the train. He could remember when his son had been six years old and received his first pair of glasses; he had been ecstatic, and have even stolen one of James' markers to draw a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. At least he didn't have to worry about his baby girl growing up on him; he had noticed the way Lily ignored all the admiring glances she had received from the boys at the platform. And he had noticed the way most of the male Hogwarts students had frozen in fear at the sight of himself and James. He grinned at Ron, who was staring hard at Frank Longbottom, giving his little girl a goodbye kiss at the platform. Thank Merlin he didn't have to deal with that.

'He knows my best mate's head of the Auror office. I _could_ kill him and make it look like an accident, you know' Ron Weasley was sour. He liked Frank, and to be honest, was a little relieved that Rose had fallen for a well mannered Gryffindor, unlike his son, but he was more than a little protective over his little girl. Besides, Harry could be obnoxious when he bragged about how _Lily_ wasn't dating anyone.

"I don't have your problems" Harry smirked, looking remarkably like his oldest son as Ginny Potter hid her smile. Her husband was quite naïve when it came to his little girl, which was probably why he hadn't banned Scorpius Malfoy from the Manor three summers before.

'The two of them will be the death of me' Ron groaned as he saw his son run towards Elyse Zabini, enveloping her in a bear hug and ignoring the scowls from her father and brother.

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione Granger-Weasley smacked her husband as he sheepishly attempted a half smile in the direction of Blaise Zabini. Ron had a profound hatred against all things Slytherin, and it had taken him awhile to accept his nephew being sorted there years before.

Harry and James smirked again as Ron cowered under his wife's death glare.

"The Zabini girls are charming, Ron. They've been best friends with Lily for years. Hugo _could_ do a lot worse."

'At least the one that's after _your_ son is in Gryffindor' Ron groused, knowing he was already in trouble with his wife anyway. He might as well say his piece.

James Sirius Potter smirked as he caught Maddie Zabini glancing over at the Potters and Weasleys, seemingly looking for someone. That reminded him, his parents owed him a few galleons.

"By the way, dad. I think you'll recognize the jumper Maddie's wearing"

Ginny Potter started as she took in the tall, thin Zabini twin wearing her son's emerald green Weasley jumper. She started to laugh as Harry grinned slightly, finishing in his pocket for galleons to give his son.

'Bloody hell, Harry! He _is_ your son'

"I didn't wait until my seventh year to ask _you _out though" Harry smirked at his wife, dropping a kiss on her lips as their son and Ron pretended to gag.

'Order! Order!' Rose Weasley had her fiercest, most forbidding expression as her cousin sat back, smirking, letting her lead the annual Prefect's meeting. Unfortunately the prefects, most of whom hadn't seen each other all summer, seemed to think it was an opportunity for them to catch up. Lysander Scamander's eyes had lit up when Lily entered the carriage. Lily had been about to make a beeline for her blond best friend when she noticed the expression in his blue eyes harden at the sight of Scorpius Malfoy entering the room. Sighing, she sat down between Hugo and the invisible lump that was Maddie, occasionally poking her best mate through the invisibility cloak.

TWEET

The carriage fell silent as Rose Weasley grinned in exhilaration, two fingers in her mouth. Thank Merlin Frank had showed her how to whistle over the summer.

'Now, that I have your undivided__attention' Rose paused to glare at her brother and cousin, who were either flirting with Ellie Zabini or poking what seemed to be the air.

'I am your head girl, Rose Weasley, and Albus here, is your head boy. Unlike previous years, we are writing up the prefect's patrolling rotas ourselves to prevent any _fraternizing_ when on duty'

Most of the prefects snickered as Hugo and Ellie Zabini turned bright red. Rose had completely lost her temper the previous year when she caught the two of them in that closet in Gryffindor tower when they were supposed to be doing rounds. Lily bit her lip, amused. She did think her cousin was being a tad hypocritical, however.

'Didn't you and Frank used to snog on your rounds, Rosie?' Lily's grin was beatific as Scorpius Malfoy let out an appreciative shout of laughter. She knew Al had already written out the schedules for the term, so Rose couldn't really get revenge on her until next term. Besides, Rose wasn't one to bear a grudge, especially against Lily.

'_Anyway_' Rose cast a hard glare at her cousin, trying to force her mind away from those nights in the Astronomy tower two years before. She couldn't wait to join Frank at the Ministry.

'Hugo Weasley, you will be working with Lily Potter' Rose grinned as her brother glared at Albus in shock. 'Lysander Scamander will be working with Hannah Longbottom and Scorpius Malfoy will work with Elyse Zabini. Al and I will patrol together' Rose beamed, proud that her cousin hadn't tried to pair Malfoy with Lily or himself, or insisted on putting Hugo and Ellie together.

"Oi, Weasley" Scorpius' loud voice caused Lily Potter's head to snap up in shock.

"I'll trade you the brunette for the redhead over there" Scorpius jerked his thumb at Lily, whose hazel eyes had widened. Albus winced as Rose and his sister glared, both of them looking angry enough to spit. He decided to prevent any actual bloodshed as his best mate cast a triumphant smirk in the direction of Lysander Scamander, whose murderous expression was uncharacteristic. Clearing his throat, he thanked the prefects for their time and gave the eager fifth year prefects the job of patrolling the carriages, while the others were dismissed. Rose had stalked off after the prefects leaving his sister to yell at his best mate.

'Scorpius. Bloody. Malfoy. Ellie and I are not _cattle_ that you and Hugo can _trade_. What do you think we are, chocolate frog cards?'

"Come on, Lils, I was helping Hugh and Ellie out. You know it was unfair that Rose decided to separate them, just because she misses Frank" Lily bit her lip, ignoring the slight jump in her pulse as she took in the boyish expression on Malfoy's face. She sighed and left the carriage, biting her lip to prevent it from twitching into a small smile.

Lysander Scamander glared at the smirking Malfoy scion, who had lagged behind the Potters and Weasleys, flashing him a rude gesture as he turned to leave.

'You wait, Malfoy. Potter isn't going to be around all the time. And come to think of it, neither will you' Lysander Scamander smiled slightly at the look of shock and recognition on the seventh year's face. It _almost_ made up for the sinking feeling he had when Lily Potter hadn't hexed Malfoy for talking to her.

Kyle Nott sniggered as his friend glared at the teacher's table. Al and Kyle had put pepper in Scorpius' pumpkin juice, declared that Dumbledore had jumped out of his portrait and was riding through the great hall on a hippogriff, but had only gotten a non-committal "That's nice" out of Scorpius.

'Scor, you _do_ know that Teddy's not allowed date his students' Albus rolled his green eyes as his best friend stabbed his food viciously.

"Did he _have_ to ask Lily to be his teaching assistant?" Scorpius groused as he narrowed his eyes at his cousin, who was happily chatting with Professor Longbottom. "He could have asked you, you're better at Defence than anyone in the school"

Albus Potter bit his lip as he considered his friend's point. Teddy always did have a special bond with Lily. He did think that the metamorphagus was currently too old for her, and that nothing would probably happen while Lily was still in school, but for the first time, he shared Scorpius' concerns. They were in for an interesting year.

AN: I just HAD to pay homage to my second favorite pairing (Lily/Teddy). I've been away without my laptop, and just got in today, so this chapter took longer than expected to post. I know there isn't much happening in this chapter, but I needed to set the stage for what will be a VERY interesting year. Please r/r!


	16. Chapter 16

Scorpius stomped noisily up the stairs to the Astronomy tower, accompanied by a slightly giggly Lily Potter. Patrolling seemed to be going better than he had hoped. The biggest challenge was, however, taking her grandfather's advice.

"_Let me in you bloody canvas" Scorpius glared at the grinning faces of the seventh year Marauders. Ever since Professor Longbottom had replaced the portrait of the Fat Lady, it had been almost impossible for any non-Gryffindor to get into the tower. The Marauders had no mercy for Slytherins, and Scorpius was still bitter about the killer rose spell given to him by Sirius Black two summers ago. _

'_You didn't say the password' Sirius Black smirked as his friends gave Scorpius apologetic grins. James Potter senior, in particular, seemed to feel sorry for the seventh year._

"_Lions eat snakes for breakfast" Scorpius rolled his eyes. How Sirius Black could be related to his grandmother, he didn't know. Narcissa Malfoy was proud, and extremely strict about proper behavior. _

'_Now that wasn't so hard, was it?' Sirius Black flashed his charming grin that still made Hogwarts girls swoon. He was about to swing the portrait open when his best friend stopped him. _

"_Wait a minute, Malfoy,"_

_Scorpius was about to argue, but paused when he saw the earnestness in James Potter's painted face. It was slightly unnerving to talk to the man who was practically a clone of his oldest grandson, but his hazel eyes, so like his granddaughters' were pretty persuasive. _

'_You really like her, don't you?'_

"_More than anything" Scorpius sighed. It seemed useless to deny how he felt about Lily to any of the Potters. Besides, a portrait couldn't kill him._

'_Then try being her friend first. Show her you're not such a bad bloke'_

"_Listen to him. This is the one who tamed the fire breathing prefect of Hogwarts"_

_Remus Lupin groaned as James Potter pounced on Sirius Black and started to pummel him. He gave Scorpius an encouraging smile as he swung the portrait open"_

'OI LILY. LET'S GO UP TO THE ASTRONOMY TOWER TO CATCH ALL THE NASTY LITTLE RULE BREAKERS OUT OF BED' Scorpius yelled loudly while Lily bit her lip and tried to look strict.

"Malfoy, we'll never catch anyone if you're going to yell like that. They'll have heard you coming from a mile away."

'Good' Scorpius grinned cheekily at the redhead next to him, controlling his impulse to twirl his finger in the loose tendrils escaping from her ponytail.

"Malfoy! Rose'll kill us"

'I don't know about you, Lils, but I don't particularly want to walk in on whatever's happening up there. My innocent mind has already been permanently scarred by those two Puffs we found in the broom closet'

Lily rolled her eyes. Malfoy could be downright tolerable when he wanted to be – he had shown that over the summer, and she didn't want to admit it, but he had always been able to make her laugh.

"Oh, please Malfoy, like you've never been in that position"

'Have you?' Scorpius quirked an eyebrow, while Lily simply grinned in response.

'Oi, Potter. You never answered my question'

'You know, Lils. Since you have the Marauder's Map, we really don't need to be actually walking around this bloody castle looking for people. We could just sit in the room of requirement, drink some butterbeer, and check the map'

Lily Potter raised a skeptical eyebrow at the Malfoy scion. He had already gotten them in trouble the previous week when Rose had heard his loud yelling and stomping, and assigned them extra rounds for the entire month. She hated to admit it, but walking around with Malfoy in the middle of the night was almost fun. They always were able to turn prefects rounds into an adventure.

"If I went to the room of requirement with you, you'd blurt it to the whole school during breakfast."

'Of course, I have nothing to hide' Scorpius puffed out his chest.

"Malfoy, we're supposed to be looking for rule breakers" Lily grinned.

'Lils, I think most of the rule breakers would be congregating in the kitchens right about now' Scorpius rubbed his stomach and grabbed the Gryffindor prefect's hand, leading her towards the painting of fruit.

Madeline Zabini noticed a slight change in Lily Potter's behavior over the previous few weeks. She no longer complained loudly when Scorpius Malfoy and Albus plonked themselves at the Gryffindor table during mealtimes. She still rejected Malfoy's daily requests for dates, but she was less infuriated after and bore his advances with humorous eye rolls instead of overt hostility. Scorpius, too, had toned down his overtures. He hadn't used fireworks in the Great Hall for an entire month.

'It's almost like he's.. growing up' Maddie grinned at her boyfriend, who had his arm looped around her and was currently trying to kiss her. He may be the Head Boy, but he was sure he had better things to be doing than discussing his sister and his best mate.

"It was _bound _to happen sometime, Mads" Albus decided it was possible to compromise and talk in between kisses. "Even Scor had to stop being a prat eventually"

'If only Lily could SEE that he's doing all this for her' Maddie liked snuggling close to Albus while talking to him. Macmillan used to get put out whenever she wanted to say anything when they were together; he mostly just wanted to snog 'She thinks he keeps asking her out just for a lark or something'

"Good luck with that" Albus snorted "My sister's not too bright. She's never going to see that the poor sod actually does fancy her"

'It must be a Potter thing' Maddie grinned as her boyfriend smiled ruefully down at her. 'How long did it take you again?'

"Hey, it's not my fault you purebloods have a hard time expressing emotion" Albus grinned before pulling Madeline Zabini into a deep kiss.

'Oi, Potter, don't you have a Head's dorm for that sort of thing?' Scorpius Malfoy chortled as his best mate flipped him and Kyle Nott off. They really should have taken the cloak if they were going to snog in corners of the library.

Lysander Scamander looked forward to Ancient Runes all week. It was the only class he shared with Lily Potter that didn't include Hugo and the wretched Zabini twins. He had noticed with despair how Al's relationship with Maddie was bringing Lily closer and closer to Malfoy. He fumed every time Lily walked out of the seventh year Defense classes where she assisted the teacher. And he could feel himself get almost physically sick when he heard Lily laughing with Malfoy during her patrols. It was hard not to let his bitterness get the better of him; he had waited six years for Lily. All he wanted was another year, and he was sure she would be his with no interference from her brothers or Malfoy. The sight of the blond seventh year filled him with more rage than usual, and as much as Lily might try to pretend he had changed, he _hadn't._ Lysander had the bruises to prove it. Yes, he hexed Malfoy at every opportunity too. But he was the victim, and Lily _had _to see that.

'Look at him, Lils. He's hanging around outside class again like some bloody stalker'

"He's probably waiting to talk to me about his Defense class, Xander. You know I'm helping Teddy with the patronuses"

'And little Malfoy has no idea how to cast one, I suppose. Why would he, anyway?' Lysander was sneering. Harry Potter had taught his children when they were in their third year, and Lily had excitedly shown him the charm the minute she learned how. After months of effort, Lysander had eventually cast his own corporeal patronus in the privacy of his own dorm – with only his brother as a witness.

"Xander…" Lily's tone was warning. She knew Xander had always hated Malfoy. What she couldn't understand was why his vitriol seemed to be increasing daily. She was also reluctant to join in the Malfoy bashing, which seemed to infuriate Xander further.

'You're defending him Lils? You hated him more than anyone!'

"I don't understand why you keep bringing him up in every conversation, anyway. It's almost as if _you_ can't get your mind off of him" frustrated, Lily sped out the door after class, running to the place where she usually went to for comfort or to blow off steam.

'Alrigh' Lily?' Lily Potter smiled up at Hagrid's friendly, burly form. Her aunt Hermione had told her in her first year that Hagrid's cottage was always a place where students were welcomed with a friendly smile and a cup of tea, and Lily had visited the giant often over the years. He seemed to have a soft spot for her and Maddie, and both Gryffindors had complained to him often about a pair of Slytherin boys.

"I'm just tired, Hagrid" Lily put her arms around the giants' middle in an attempt to give him a bear hug. "Any chance for a spot of tea?"

As Hagrid put the kettle on, Lily caught a glimpse of platinum blond hair outside the cottage window.

AN: Please don't hate me for ending the chapter like this – it just felt like a natural progression. Please r/r! It can be my early birthday present


	17. Chapter 17

'Was that… Malfoy?' Lily was confused. From Malfoy's prissy attitude over the years, she'd never have imagined him to be spending time with Hagrid. Although knowing his stalker-type tendencies, she supposed she shouldn't be too surprised.

"He's probably here to visit Fluffy" Hagrid shrugged as he put a large teapot on the table and beckoned to his guest. Trying to make herself comfortable by the fire, Lily sipped her tea, catching herself as her hazel eyes strayed to the window.

Hagrid smiled to himself. He remembered a similar situation years before, when Lily's grandmother had sat in his hut, eyes darting around the room and asking Hagrid to pass the "James." He coughed loudly when he noticed Lily staring off outside his window.

"Y'know Lily, Fluffy's getting on in years. You might want to stop by and see him before you leave."

Lily's cheeks reddened as she wondered what Scorpius Malfoy was doing around the giant three headed dog, anyway. Maybe he was going to use Fluffy to prank Xander. She supposed it was her prefectorial duty to find out what he was up to. Thanking Hagrid for the tea, Lily gathered her coat and walked through Hagrid's garden to Fluffy's "doghouse" – a large shed the size of Hagrid's hut.

Marching into the shed, she paused as she took in the scene in front of her. Scorpius Malfoy appeared tiny as he sat beside the giant three headed dog, holding a large paw the size of his head and stroking it gently as he talked softly. One of the aged dog's heads occasionally licked his cheek. Smiling slightly, Lily considered not making her presence felt – it was interesting to see a slightly softer side to Malfoy. She turned to leave when another of Fluffy's heads let out a bark, acknowledging her presence.

"P-potter?" Scorpius sputtered as Lily Luna Potter stood in the doorway of the shed, the sunlight trickling through the cracks in the roof made her hair glow with a golden glint.

'Alright, Malfoy?' Lily smiled as she approached the giant dog. She climbed up a nearby wooden crate to stroke one of the majestic beast's head.

"Merlin, Potter, I knew you fancied me, but this stalking is completely unbecoming." Scorpius smirked as his best mate's sister rolled her hazel eyes. He really was _quite_ incorrigible.

'In your bloody dreams, Malfoy.'

"Oh we do _much_ more interesting things in my dreams, Potter" Scorpius grinned as the famous Weasley blush stained Lily Potter's cheeks.

'Shove off, Malfoy. Aren't you supposed to be in History with Al?'

Scorpius scoffed as Lily Potter eyed him curiously.

"They're covering the second Wizarding War today, Lils. Potters and Malfoys don't attend that class. Al went for a fly on the quidditch pitch."

Lily was silent, taking in the bitter tone in the seventh year Slytherin's voice. She was proud of her father, as were James and Albus, but the attention the Potter children received when the war was mentioned was pretty uncomfortable. While James had basked in his de facto hero status, Al had shied away from it for years. There was a close physical resemblance between the Potter brothers, but Albus was often singled out because his eyes made him an exact clone of his father. And she could only imagine what Malfoy must endure whenever the war was mentioned. Tentatively, she climbed down and moved over to Malfoy, gently touching his hand as he spoke.

"Al didn't care to have Binns hug him and thank him for Harry saving the world. And point out to everyone how much Al looked like him. And well, Binns likes to flash pictures of Dad and grandfather Lucius too"

Lily was again silent. Living up to a family reputation was hard, but it was just as hard to live down a reputation like the Malfoys. And History at NEWT level was a mixed class – Lily could only imagine the snide comments from people like Mclaggen and some of the more obnoxious students in other houses. It was unnerving to see Malfoy be so serious and thoughtful. She cleared her throat.

'So why come here?'

Scorpius smiled slightly. He didn't know why he was actually confiding in Lily instead of attempting to sweep her off her feet, but it did feel good to have someone besides Albus and Kyle understand what he was going through.

"Al and I used to come here often as little firsties. The other Slytherins were giving him a hard time for being a Potter and because Harry had put some of their family members in Azkaban"

Lily frowned, furious at the idea of her sensitive brother being mistreated.

"As for me, I was a traitor in Slytherin for defending Al and death eater spawn to the rest of the school. Older students even used to shove my face into the war memorial, telling me to look at what my family did. It didn't help that Al looks exactly like Harry and I look exactly like dad. Hagrid would cheer us up with stories of giants and dragons, even if his sandwich making ability is slightly questionable. "

Lily tilted her head, studying Scorpius Malfoy's face as he spoke. Her mind whirled as she tried to reconcile the seventeen year old in front of her with the annoying git who practiced the jelly legs jinx first years and repeatedly hexed her best male friend.

'You don't look _exactly_ like Draco' Lily tried to lighten the mood a little as Scorpius looked at her curiously.

"You style your hair differently. Besides.." Lily grinned as she got up and prepared to run "Draco is much hotter"

High above them, Madeline Zabini decided not to point out the blond and redheaded figures running across the grounds. Her boyfriend may be a skilled flier, but he was also a slightly protective big brother, and prone to shocks. She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly as he swooped past Gryffindor tower. She had no intention of causing Albus to crash their broom.

'What do you want, Mulciber' Al Potter's green eyes narrowed as his burly housemate, along with three cronies shoved him against a wall. Since joining the quidditch team, he had been quickly accepted as a valuable member of Slytherin house. Most Slytherins often bragged about how Hogwarts golden boy had _chosen_ their house. Some of his male housemates, however, had been openly hostile to him from the start of the year, when it had become evident that he was dating one of the Zabini twins.

"What's the matter, Potter? No little mudbloods catch your fancy, that you had to chase after one of ours?"

Albus quirked his eyebrow, as he struggled to reach his wand. Mulciber's cronies had pinned his arms effectively. He knew enough wandless magic to defend himself if they actually attacked, but he wasn't sure he wanted to go on the offensive with three overgrown apes. He kicked out and wrenched his arms free as he heard Scorpius' loud voice down the hall, arguing with Kyle about the wisdom of showing up outside Lily's dorm on his broomstick with a muggle style boombox.

'Mulciber' Scorpius' voice was low and dangerous. He and Kyle rounded the corner to see Albus Potter surrounded by their three housemates. All four Slytherins had their wands out. No one was allowed to even breathe an ill word against Al Potter in his presence.

"If it isn't the little blood traitor himself."

"You should be angrier than anyone, Malfoy. If it wasn't for these Potters and Weasleys, we'd be marrying the Zabini twins after Hogwarts. But wait – I forgot, you seem to be distracted by his little blood traitor sister too" Kyle Nott had to hold Scorpius back as the blond moved to punch their housemate. Mulciber and his cronies would have a clear physical advantage if this argument turned into a muggle style brawl.

'I'd suggest you leave now' Kyle's voice was cold and frosty, as his two best friends breathed heavily, their wands at the ready.

'You _do_ remember what these two did at dueling club, and it's no longer three on one'

Gulping slightly, Mulciber ran down the hall with his friends as Albus, Scorpius and Kyle made their way to the one eyed witch statue. None of the Slytherins noticed the three angry sixth year girls in the shadows.

Lily Potter was silent as she walked through the halls with Scorpius Malfoy. After overhearing the fight between her brother, Malfoy and the Slytherin apes, Ellie had let Lily and Maddie into the Slytherin common room, where they each punched out one of the older students. Lily's heart gave an inward cheer as her shy best friend scathingly commented that even if Al didn't exist, she wouldn't marry Mulciber if he was the last man on earth. Al and Scorpius had been decidedly curious as to _how_ Mulciber, Crabbe and Goyle had managed to sport matching black eyes and split lips at breakfast.

"Lily… earth to Lils!" Scorpius cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled at his partner, who seemed to be lost in thought.

Raising an eyebrow, Lily fixed her hazel eyes on her patrol partner.

"Sickle for your thoughts. I'd offer a galleon, but contrary to popular belief, we Malfoys don't have bags of galleons lying around"

Lily bopped the grinning blond in the arm as she spoke carefully.

'What are you, Malfoy?'

Scorpius looked down at himself, perplexed. "I'm whatever you want me to be, baby"

Lily rolled her eyes again.

'That's precisely my point. You're this person who has been through so much with my brother, who is protective of his best friends and spends his time with Hagrid's old and dying dog –'

Scorpius preened a little, cutting Lily off in his excitement. Maybe she didn't think he was such a bad bloke after all. "That's me. I'm the best"

'And you're also the person who steals knickers and uses them to decorate his garden'

Scorpius shook his head sadly. He had had his hands on Lily Potter's knickers as an innocent twelve year old – and he hadn't even appreciated the experience at the time.

"What can I say, Lils. I'm a complicated guy. You can always find out more at Hogsmeade this weekend"

Scorpius was surprised when Lily laughed at that.

'Just when I start to take you seriously, Malfoy'

He bit his lip in disappointment and frustration. "What makes you think I wasn't being serious, Potter?"

Lily stopped and stared. For the first time, she noticed traces of genuine hurt on Malfoy's face as he tried to mask his disappointment. She tried to ignore the pounding of her own heart as he waited for his answer.

'Because you don't actually _like_ me, Malfoy.' Lily's voice was soft. "You only think I'm pretty, and possibly because I'm the only girl who's ever turned you down"

Scorpius was silent. He knew he should protest, but he didn't think Lily would believe anything he said. He could swear he spotted an uncertain tone to her voice as she spoke. He didn't dare to hope that she was coming around a bit, but he smiled as he felt her hand on his.

'Fancy a midnight fly, Malfoy?'

AN: I tried to make this chapter focus almost exclusively on Scor's character development in Lily's eyes, but I'm not sure how I did. Please read and review - it'll inspire me to post the next chapter faster :)


	18. Chapter 18

AN: I can't even begin to apologize for the delay. I got busy with school (and I now have my degree ), and to be honest lacked inspiration on where to take the story next. I'm HOPING the next chapter makes up for the long wait, and thanks so much to everyone who has been reviewing and who has sent me prodding emails

Lily Luna Potter stared glumly at her plate. She had been abandoned by her best friend, who had accused her of being an idiot and gone over to sit at the Slytherin table with Lily's brother and her sister. And Scorpius Malfoy. She bit her lip as she avoided the cool, grey gaze of the blond Slytherin, who also appeared to be picking at his food, _not that she had noticed._ Malfoy was still sporting the black eye James had given him over the break.

_Flashback:_

_Lily Potter was standing in the Malfoy family astronomy tower at around 11:55pm on December 31__st__. Draco and Astoria Malfoy had decided to host their annual New Years Ball at the Manor, and Scorpius had, for some inexplicable reason, invited all his friends (which by then included most of the Potter/Weasley clan above the age of 16) to their own mini party in the spot Lily would sneak off to every other summer. Her cousins had all paired off with their significant others, Teddy was hitting the firewhiskey with Greg Zabini, and Kyle Nott had surprisingly decided to start following Lily's cousin Dominique around. She was enjoying a moment to herself, standing slightly away from her crazy family, when she was joined by her host. _

'_Methinks the lovely lady needs a drink'_

_Lily smiled in spite of herself as she looked at Malfoy, with his ridiculous glittery gold top hat that clashed horribly with his hair. He was holding out a cup and a paper plate with Lily's favorite chocolate chip cookies on it. Greedily, she grabbed a cookie before dubiously accepting the cup filled with an ambiguous amber liquid. _

"_This better not be laced with love potion, Malfoy" she joked, grinning at the look of mock hurt on Scorpius Malfoy's face. _

'_Lils, when you finally fall for me, I don't want you to be able to blame it on any potion. Trust me' _

_The corners of her mouth quirked upward as she took in her companion's disarming grin. Malfoy could be quite charming when he wanted to be. She sipped the drink – a delightful cocktail of firewhiskey and some muggle syrup Scorpius must have procured specially for her. He seemed to be drinking a golden colored drink himself._

"_Taking some Felix Felicis to start the new year, Scor? You'll need more than that to pass Defence"_

'_I would pass, if Lupin didn't insist on making the exam on the bloody Patronus charm. Just because everyone in your bloody family learned it when you were in diapers doesn't mean the rest of us deserve to suffer. Mine still looks like spoons.'_

"_You were born with a silver spoon, Scor" Lily didn't know when she started referring to Scorpius by his preferred name, instead of Malfoy or the usual Scorpius Bloody Malfoy, but she quite liked it. Besides, he was being humble for once. _

"_Seriously, though. I keep telling you – your wand movements are exactly right. You just need to pick a more powerful memory" _

_10… 9…. _

_Lily's breath hitched as Malfoy stepped closer to her, an unreadable expression in his eye. _

'_Maybe I need to make a better memory'_

_8…. 7…._

_All over the room, Potter/Weasleys were holding on to their significant others. Lily started to panic slightly. She hadn't shared a New Years kiss with anyone before – she hadn't dated anyone seriously enough to invite them home for Christmas and New Years. She and Maddie had always giggled about how New Years kisses were special – and she knew Maddie had been looking forward to welcoming the coming year with Albus Potter for months now. For some reason, though, she didn't feel much like pushing Scorpius away or yelling for James. _

_6… 5…_

_Scorpius was nervous, and gulped down the rest of his liquid luck, brewed carefully that morning. Lily didn't seem to be reaching for her wand, which was good – he didn't want to start the year with a bat bogey hex. He stepped closer and put his arm around her, afraid to break eye contact, in case she ran away. _

_4… 3… 2… HAPPY NEW YEAR_

_Almost in slow motion, Scorpius Malfoy lowered his lips to meet that of his best friend's sister. Her body seemed to press into his as her arms explored his chest, groaning slightly as his mouth brushed over hers again. It was almost worth it when James pulled him off and punched him in the eye. _

Lily Potter frowned at her food. She had fled after the midnight kiss, her thoughts jumbled as blond hair, grey eyes and an irritating smile flashed before her eyes again and again. She vaguely remembered making James apologize, and skipping the prefects meeting on the train that morning. She also remembered sighing in relief when she found out Rose had assigned Eli Wood as her patrol partner for the term. She hadn't slept well since the new year, and the thought of having to face Scorpius during patrols was more than she could cope with. She hadn't, however, planned on walking in on a fight between Scorpius and Xander in the corridor outside the dungeon that morning.

_Flashback:_

_Lily was running to double Potions on her own – she had trailed behind on purpose that morning so that the fastidious Maddie wouldn't wait for her. She didn't want to explain why she had woken up in the middle of the night and dashed to the kitchens in search of some comforting chocolate. She had had to stop short, however, when a flash of blue light whizzed past her, singeing her robe._

"_Scorpius BLOODY Malfoy!" Lily Potter could avoid all embarrassment when she was angry. That curse had very nearly hit her, and her childhood friend was sporting a pig's snout and a curly tail. Malfoy was doing no better, with with tufts of red hair growing out of his face and a pair of long, magnificently curved horns sticking out of his head, but she chose to ignore that, just as she chose to ignore the rapid quickening of her heartbeat when she saw him. _

'_L-lils?' Scorpius looked shocked. He had been trying to talk to the stubborn redhead all week, but now, when the opportunity had finally presented himself, he wasn't exactly looking his best and had been caught redhanded cursing her friend. Damn his luck. _

"_Look at this – you could have seriously hurt him!" Lily pointed to the charred streak on her new outer robe._

_Scorpius opened his mouth and shut it again, unsure of how to respond. The slimy salamander git was grinning like a bloody monkey behind Lily's back – no doubt he was going to make her accompany him to the hospital wing, whining about Scorpius like the little whinger that he was. Biting his lip, his response was a lot more curt than he had intended._

'_Why is it always my fault, Potter? It takes two to fight, but you never see anything wrong with your precious salamander. You deserve the little slug' _

_Turning on his heel, Scorpius Malfoy walked away, leaving an open mouthed and visibly upset Lily Potter in the dungeon. _

Almost against his better judgment, Scorpius stole a glance at the Gryffindor table. He genuinely felt bad for allowing his bitterness to affect him, but he had no idea how to fix things. Lily was clearly upset, and the sight of her tear streaked face made him want to Avada himself on the spot. Not only had he effectively eliminated all opportunity to talk to Lily about new years eve, he had genuinely hurt her feelings. This was different from the times when he had pranked her or insulted her over the summer to get a rise out of her – Scorpius had no idea how to make this better. He stared longingly at the table, squirming slightly under his best friend's sympathetic gaze. He was debating what to do when the evening post arrived; with it came a stark red envelope thrown on the plate of his best friend's sister.

AN: I hope this made up for the long wait! I decided to put a kiss in, and the rest practically wrote itself! I also have the next chapter figured out in my head! Yay for 2013 Please r/r!


	19. Chapter 19

Maddie Zabini wished she hadn't decided to have dinner with her boyfriend at the Slytherin table as she looked over at the Gryffindor table with sympathy. Ellie, Hugo and Rose had surrounded Lily, who was staring at her howler in horror, while Al looked as if he wanted to march over and comfort his sister. As far as he knew, Lily hadn't gotten caught for anything major lately, and blowing up the school was their older brothers' forte, not hers. Scorpius had already stood up and started walking towards the red and gold side of the room when Lily opened the envelope with trembling hands.

"LILY LUNA POTTER"

Lily was startled as her oldest brother's booming voice came out of the envelope. Since she was little, James had acted as if she could do no wrong, even taking the blame for pranks she had pulled. Why in Merlin's name would James send her a howler?

"THIS IS TO CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO THE WEDDING OF HOGWARTS' MOST ESTEEMED ALUMNUS JAMES SIRIUS POTTER AND HIS BEAUTIFUL FIANCEE SONIA CORNER. SONIA'S GOING TO WANT YOU TO BE A BRIDESMAID, OF COURSE. AL, SINCE YOU AND THAT IDIOT MALFOY ARE PROBABLY SKULKING AROUND, YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN THE WEDDING TOO. MUM SAID SOMETHING ABOUT GROOMSMEN WEARING. SONIA'S GOING TO ASK ROSE TO BE HER MAID OF HONOR, SO – OI, What was that for? I know you wanted to ask her yourself, but isn't this easier? Ok, ok. ROSE – SONIA'S NOT GOING TO ASK YOU TO BE HER MAID OF HONOR, DISREGARD THAT.

Lily grinned at the Slytherin table, all former embarrassment forgotten. Leave it to James to announce his engagement in the most obnoxious way possible. Rose was stifling a chuckle as most of the Hogwarts population roared with mirth. Professor Mcgonagall looked as though she didn't know whether to be amused or have a stroke on the spot.

"What do you mean, I should have waited until the holidays to tell them. Baby that's not for MONTHS. Besides, this way you won't have to keep asking me which type of parchment paper I want the invitations on. OI"

Scorpius grinned at James Sirius Potter's yelp of pain. From his position behind Lily, he could see her red gold curls bounce as she bobbed in excitement – he knew she would soon be wanting a hug.

"ANYWAY, LILS AND AL – YOU'LL BE IN THE WEDDING. MINNIE AND THE REST OF THE HOGWARTS GIRLS, I KNOW YOU'RE DISAPPOINTED"

Albus snorted. Some of the older Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Gryffindor girls were actually starting to cry.

"BUT NOT TO WORRY- AL IS STILL AVAILABLE"

Maddie shook her fist at the envelope while her boyfriend turned red.

"WELL SORT OF. MY LOVELY FIANCEE APPEARS TO BE A LITTLE BIT UPSET AT THE MOMENT SO IT'S TIME FOR ME TO KISS AND MAKE UP WITH HER WHILE YOU ALL SOD OFF"

Lily's eyes filled with happy tears as the howler in front of her started to destroy itself. After her oldest brother's endless parade of dippy fangirls, Lily couldn't have been happier to see him finally settle down with the shy former Ravenclaw prefect. She couldn't imagine someone she'd rather have as a sister in law, except maybe Maddie and Ellie. Without thinking, she turned around and pulled her brother's best friend, who was standing behind her, into a huge, tight hug, sobbing softly into his shoulder as Lysander Scamander gripped his goblet two tables away.

"What do you mean James probably won't invite you to the wedding? You practically grew up with us, and he knows we come in a pack of two" Albus Potter was fairly befuddled at his best mate's downcast attitude. He seemed to think Lily would go to the wedding and fall in love with one of Sonia's cousins, or even Lysander Scamander, because he, Scorpius, wouldn't be there to prevent it.

'He hates me. Ever since, you know. The incident.' Scorpius was hesitant to bring up kissing his best friend's sister to Albus. He knew Albus wasn't as protective as James, but he did keep a sharp eye on Lily's boyfriends and wasn't comfortable with any discussion of her personal life.

"Right.. the.. ah… incident" Albus looked as if he would rather be avada kedavra-ed by Bellatrix Lestrange herself than be having this discussion with his best friend, but he also knew he didn't have much of a choice.

'You're not… upset with me, are you?' Scorpius' voice was low. It was one thing to ask his sister out night and day with no hope of success. Even James had had no problem with that. It was quite another to grab and kiss your best friend's sister without even asking first. Albus hadn't hit him, but he had become a lot quieter since New Years.

Albus sighed.

"I won't pretend it's easy for me to think of you and my sister together – "

'She won't even give me the time of day'

"But I can get used to it. I just have three conditions"

'Anything' Scorpius was just relieved his best mate wasn't threatening to kill him, yet.

"1) You hurt her, you die. I don't care how good you are at curses, we both know who's won the European dueling championship for the last three years running"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. His best friend had bragged for months about beating him in the competition to represent Hogwarts the previous year.

"2) If you break up _mutually _– "

'We aren't even dating – '

"If you break up _mutually_ or if she breaks up with you, you will not be asking me to take sides. Family always comes first; it will be difficult, but there is no way I could ever side with you over Lily"

Scorpius shrugged. He knew he would never risk his friendship with Al by asking him to pick between himself and Lily anyway. 'What's number three?'

"3) I get to be there when you tell James you're dating. And dad. And oh man, Uncle Ron will have a fit. He's already threatened to sue Blaise for sending his daughters to corrupt me and Hugo" Albus burst out laughing as Scorpius sat still with shock. He knew Rose and Hugo's father was _somewhat_ anti- Slytherin but he had no idea things ran so deep. He also remembered his father coming home after Auror missions complaining about working with that "_red headed buffoon of a Weasley_" and wondering why "_Potter didn't just fire him already._" Ron Weasley was also Lily's favorite uncle.

"By the way, Wood asked me to cover for his patrol tonight, but I'm taking Maddie to Hogsmeade. I don't suppose you would want to cover for me?" Albus grinned cheekily. Scorpius had groused about not being able to patrol with Lily for the past few weeks.

Scorpius Malfoy let out a yelp of joy and pulled his best friend into a very unmanly bear hug. He knew this was Al's way of telling him he was free to keep pursuing Lily. He practically ran out the door, ready to meet a very surprised Lily Potter outside the Gryffindor portrait hole.

AN: There wasn't much Lily/Scor here, but I wanted to talk a bit about Albus/Scor's friendship here and set the stage for more fun in the next couple of chapters. Please read/review!


	20. Chapter 20

"M-Malfoy" Lily gulped as she took in the tall, blond Slytherin prefect standing outside the Gryffindor portrait hole. Eli was sick, of course, but she had expected to find her brother or Xander waiting for her. She smacked herself on the head for her naïve optimism. Of _course _Malfoy would find a way to corner her.

'Lils' Scorpius grinned, taking in the deep blush that stained Lily Potter's cheeks. It wasn't often that she got flustered, and he did enjoy seeing her squirm sometimes. Besides, he had missed spending time with her on their rounds. Even if she had hexed him for calling them pre-dates.

"I cannot believe the git would send you. Rose banned us from working together remember?"

'Rose is in the Head's dorm happily writing to Frank about how they are going to walk down the aisle together at James' wedding.' Scorpius waggled his eyebrows as Lily laughed in spite of herself. 'Besides, I knew you'd be missing me since you canceled our Defense lessons'

Lily blushed again and examined the floor. She knew she was being a coward; hiding from Malfoy after the new year but truthfully their kiss had scared her. She hadn't expected to _want_ him as much as she had.

"You don't need lessons anymore. I already taught you everything I can. All that's left is for you to pick a better memory." Lily Potter's voice was prim as Scorpius bit back a comment about making better memories in a broom closet. The last thing he needed was for Lily to hex him and run off again for weeks.

'Tell you what, Lils – let's go to the Astronomy tower and I'll practice with you using some _better_ memories that I've acquired recently' Scorpius may have matured somewhat, but he could never resist teasing Lily.

Lily bit her lip and fingered her wand, hoping if she didn't say anything, Malfoy wouldn't talk further about the _incident_ and about why she had been avoiding him. She needed to change the subject anyway. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Lily spoke timidly (for her).

"M-malfoy?"

'Hmm?' Scorpius was snapped out of a daydream involving himself, Lily Potter and the Shrieking Shack.

"I'm s-s-s-orry" Lily had a hard time getting the words out.

'What?' Scorpius was incredulous. In all his years of knowing Lily Potter, she had never apologized to him. He couldn't remember her apologizing to anyone really, except her father.

"I talked to Xander today" Lily avoided Malfoy's stormy eyes. He was silent, willing her to continue.

"He told me how the fight started"

Scorpius scuffed his shoe on the ground. Truthfully, he had been in a bad mood over Lily ignoring him, and had hexed the salamander when he ran into him in the corridor.

"While transfiguring his book into a giant slug-"

'Salamander' Scorpius grinned. It was some of his best work

"Just because he crashed into you wasn't the nicest thing you could have done, he didn't have to retaliate. And even though he didn't admit to it, I know he probably said some things he shouldn't have after that…"

Scorpius was silent again. The death eater comments rankled him, although he often tried hard not to show it.

"Anyway, it was wrong of me to jump all over you before finding out what happened"

'I wouldn't have minded you _actually_ jumping on me. In fact, you should do that right now!'

"Git" Lily let out a high pitched laugh unlike her own as she gently shoved her companion, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach. They walked in silence for a few more steps before Scorpius spoke.

'Lils'

Lily bit her lip. So help her, if Scorpius tried to kiss her, she wasn't sure what she would do.

'What did you see in that git anyway? You were actually going to go out with him before- '

Lily coughed uncomfortably as she recalled the _incident_ after her O.W.L. The one that had probably cost her a possible relationship with someone she had genuinely liked for a long time.

"He – he was just always the _one_."

Scorpius turned green slightly, sorry that he had brought up the topic. Lily deserved better than a cowardly slug, of course.

"All Potters don't just meet someone on Wizmatch, date and get married. Potter marriages have always been crazy romantic love stories. Dad fell in love with his best friend's sister, who he dated while fighting a war to kill the most evil wizard of all time. Al took after dad in that sense – he fell for Maddie, a sibling's best friend who had basically hero worshipped him her entire life"

Scorpius snorted. Madeline's crush on Albus had been almost as amusing as Al's complete ignorance of it for most of their time at Hogwarts.

"And even James – he fell for the prefect who gave him detention! I guess I always thought Xander and I would be like Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione – best friends who fell in love. I guess I always wanted to be part of a romantic cliché, and live up to the Potter name." Lily smiled ruefully. She hadn't admitted that to anyone before.

Scorpius frowned. It sounded like Lily had been genuinely interested in the slug, but that interest had stemmed from the fact that deep down, she had wanted a grand romance. He suddenly smirked, 'You should marry me. We can be like your granddad James and grandma Lily. Mcgonagall still calls them the greatest love story Hogwarts has ever seen.'

Lily inhaled sharply, never having seen the parallels between Malfoy the git and the stories about her teenaged grandfather. "You can't even get me to go on a date with you, and you're proposing marriage." Lily tried to ignore the quickening of her heart as she imagined herself and Malfoy strolling around Hogsmeade hand in hand. The bloody blond git was getting to her.

'First rule of negotiation, Lils. Always ask for more than the other party is willing to give, and then bargain down. What do you say?' Scorpius grinned, taking in Lily Potter's flustered demeanor.

"I _might_ consider going out with you when pigs fly, Malfoy"

Madeline Zabini was upset. Al Potter may be handsome, smart, quiet and brave but he was irritatingly obtuse at times. Their midnight stroll to Hogsmeade had been cut short when he failed to see the problem she had with him canceling their weekend plans to tutor Hannah Longbottom in transfiguration. And the fact that he was going to walk down the aisle with her at James' wedding. Maddie wasn't as unreasonable as Sophie had been; she knew Al was probably always going to be followed around by fangirls, and she knew Hannah was a family friend, and the sister of his brother's best friend. She also trusted Albus implicitly. The image of him walking down the aisle with a pretty blonde still made Maddie slightly sick, however. She had stalked back to Gryffindor tower in a huff, leaving her clueless and slightly bewildered boyfriend in secret passage. After sleeping on it, however, she realized she _might_ possibly have overreacted. She was impatient to make up with him at breakfast, but her best friend was taking forever to haul her lazy arse out of bed.

Lily Potter hurried down the stairs of the girl's dormitory, snickering slightly as she tried to keep up with Maddie. She wasn't sure if she was the best influence on the quiet Zabini twin – Maddie had unceremoniously shoved her out of bed and into the bathroom. Maddie had been pretty tearful the night before about her fight with Albus, and Lily was glad that her best friend was eager to try and fix things. The two Gryffindors stopped short when they saw a huge banner in the Great Hall with the words ALBUS HEARTS MADELINE painted sloppily in her brother's untidy handwriting . Maddie Zabini practically flew at the Slytherin table, ignoring the hisses and dark looks from specific corners of the room. As Lily followed her friend, she noticed Scorpius Malfoy's knowing smirk as he pointed surreptitiously towards the banner. The banner was held up by a pair of green pot bellied pigs with wings.


	21. Chapter 21

Seventeen year old Lily Potter sat at the Gryffindor table, shooting a death glare at the Slytherin table across the hall. Valentines day was usually characterized with loud displays of affection, requests for dates, fireworks and many many flowers. This year, she was being followed around by the little green flying pigs, with little diapers and clutching cupid's bows. Though she complained about it, she secretly found them cute. She had named them after her father's and uncles' dead owls. She was glaring at the Slytherin table because Elpheba Flint had plonked her skinny, pale bum next to Albus and Scorpius. She tried not to smirk as she noticed the desperate look in Malfoy's eyes as Al got up to join his girlfriend at the Gryffindor table. Not that she had been jealous or anything – Malfoy was just quite amusing when he was cornered.

Truthfully, she was running out of reasons for turning her brother's best friend down. He was still an arrogant prat, more often than not she found his antics amusing. She often caught herself biting back a laugh as he loudly protested that he had taken a vow of celibacy and could not take Elpheba to the Valentines day ball that year. If nothing else, Malfoy was creative. She flushed slightly as Malfoy walked over to the Gryffindor table looking visibly shaken.

"Oi, that's mine!" Lily Potter did not share food. Especially bacon. She pouted as the Malfoy scion chewed loudly next to her, whining about the _trauma _of dealing with that 'scary banshee who won't touch a cream puff if her life depended on it.' It wasn't as though Malfoy hadn't taken her (along with most of the Slytherin girls) to Hogsmeade in his third year.

'Come on Lils, I need my strength. Besides, she might have laced all of my food with amortentia or something'

"I think Al's the one who needs to be worried. Sophie and Selena are giving him and Mads the _look_"

'You mean the same one you were giving me and Flint?' Scorpius grinned, noting the slight flush on Lily Potter's cheeks. His heart pounded slightly, as he tried to quell the hope rising in his chest. Maybe Lily was _finally_ coming round.

"So… it looks like you'll be without a date this year." Lily looked at her shoes, as Maddie, Ellie and Rose gave her encouraging looks from across the table.

Scorpius breathed heavily as he tried to respond, 'I guess so… what about you?'

"_Someone_ scared away all the boys who were going to ask me" Lily couldn't help but grouse. She was certain Xander had been about to ask her the night before when he had suddenly tripped, and she had seen a flash of white blond hair dashing away.

'So. Maybe we should go together' Scorpius tried to inject a jovial tone into his voice as he glanced at Lily. Her sudden silence unnerved him – he was half expecting to get hexed.

"A-alright"

Scorpius' heart stood still as forks clattered all around the Great Hall. Lily Potter was flushed, and she seemed to panic slightly as she took in the shocked reactions from her classmates.

"I mean – as friends, of course. Since we don't have dates"

Scorpius was silent. On one hand, he had an opportunity to escort Lily Potter to the Valentines day ball in his last year at Hogwarts. On the other, he wasn't about to pretend he was interested in going as her _friend_. He wanted to go with her on a real date.

'No.' His voice was soft, but firm as he felt his stomach plummet. He ignored the sharp intake of breath from Maddie Zabini sitting on her other side, and his best friends' sudden stare.

'Lils… I'll go with you as your boyfriend or as your date, but you can sod off with your 'just friends' label.' He sighed as Lily Potter got up and fled the hall, burying his head in his hand to drown out the remonstrations of her cousins and friends.

Lily Potter sobbed into her hands. Thankfully, there weren't any astronomy classes that night, and most students waited until after hours to snog in the astronomy tower. She didn't know why she was so disappointed, really. Malfoy had always been a git. She had probably only agreed to go out with him to shut him up, anyway. And to get rid of the sodding pigs anyway.

'That's a lot of bull and you know it, Lils' Lily blinked as her brother smiled crookedly at her. 'You agreed to go out with him because you realized that you've probably always fancied the sod'

Lily bristled, about to unleash her redhead's temper on her usually sensitive sibling when she caught the concern in Al's green eyes. She sighed.

"If he really liked me, he would have gone with me anyway. I would have come around."

'He was being honest with you, Lils. Plus, he's also a little bit thick, in case you hadn't noticed.'

Lily grinned slightly. He did have a point. Her smile faded as she remembered something that had run through her mind all through the school year.

"He doesn't _really_ like me though. Not really. He thinks I'm just another pretty face."

'Lils, he's chased after you for the last four years. You know he's an arrogant berk – he wouldn't put up with being rejected in public every. single. day.'

"He said so, though" her voice was soft and slightly wobbly as she continued "When I asked him what else he liked about me, he asked what else there was"

Albus Potter was silent, inwardly cursing the stupidity of his best friend. Merlin, and he had the nerve to say _Albus_ knew nothing about girls? At least Albus eventually asked Maddie out in a proper, normal manner.

'Look, Lils. I'm not saying you have to…_marry_ him or anything' Albus really didn't know why he was having this conversation with his sister. Deep down, he knew he was almost as protective as James, he just hid it a lot better. 'Just – we have our Defence tests today. Sneak in and take a look. Then make up your mind' Albus smiled slightly as his sister hugged him, and stood up. He needed to give her some time to think, and he also had a girlfriend to spoil.

Scorpius Malfoy heaved a sigh of relief when his Defense group was called into the testing room. Only Al and Kyle had seen his fully formed Patronus. While he didn't like the fact that Teddy Lupin and the rest of the seventh years would now see it, he couldn't help but be relieved that there was no sign of Lily Potter in the room.

When his name was called, he walked to the front of the room with a slight swagger, pausing slightly as he heard a soft feminine chuckle from the back of the room. Turning around and seeing no one, he brandished his wand and closed his eyes, concentrating on a particular image on New Years Eve. The emotion in a pair of hazel eyes, the feeling of soft pink lips on his, small arms wound tightly around his neck.

'EXPECTO PATRONUM!'

Professor Teddy Lupin's eyes widened as a large silver wolf shot out of Scorpius Malfoy's wand. It was an exact counterpart to a she-wolf that had been conjured in that very room on the first day of classes. He bit his lip and looked directly at the pale blond teenager in front of him. His bright eyes focused on a spot directly behind the students and nodded slightly, before addressing his young half cousin.

"You do realize that wolves mate for life"

Scorpius nodded, numb. He had known for a long time that he was serious about Lily Potter, and he probably had messed up his one chance to prove that. He turned to leave the classroom when he bumped into a petite, solid form.

'L-lily?'

Lily Potter's whirling emotions had softened when she saw the genuine emotion in Malfoy's grey eyes. Merlin, she still didn't know what to make of the whole thing, but she did know that Malfoy probably did have stronger feelings for her than she had allowed herself to believe.

"M-malfoy?" She forgot the eyes of the other students as she impulsively pulled the tall, blond Slytherin into a kiss. After a moment's hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, running a hand through her long, red hair. The world spun as he moved his lips against hers, and he shot a death glare at his professor who had shot a separating charm at them. Cousin or not, Teddy Lupin was in for a long, long summer of pranks. Ignoring the loud whoop from Kyle Nott, Scorpius yanked his best friend's sister out into the hall.

"So, Lily – it looks like we both don't have dates to the ball tonight."

'So. Maybe we should go together?' Lily blushed as Scorpius pulled her closer and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"As friends?"

'Scor' Scorpius grinned at the use of his preferred nickname. 'I'll go with you as your girlfriend or as your date, but you can sod off with your 'just friends label' Lily grinned as Scorpius captured her lips into a kiss again. Now that he could freely kiss her without getting hexed, he didn't plan on stopping anytime soon.

"As my girlfriend, then."

Lily blushed as Scorpius took her hand and they made their way towards the kitchens. She couldn't help but notice that his fingers fit perfectly with hers. She raised an eyebrow when her boyfriend stopped short, a grin playing about his lips.

"Oi, Potter"

She scowled. Whenever he called her Potter, he was up to no good.

"Marry me?"

The halls of Hogwarts rang with laughter as Lily chased Scorpius down the corridor, calling him a presumptuous toerag. Above them, a painted image of James Potter senior put his arm around the painted image of his wife, smiling as she leaned into him. He picked up a mirror from his pocket and said his best friend's name.

"Oi Padfoot. You owe me ten galleons."

AN: I was going to drag this out longer but… it's valentines day! Hope everyone has a lovely day, and let me know in your reviews if you'd prefer an epilogue or a sequel to this (I have an idea for one already).


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